Author: Stephen Meuse

The dinner party differs from the cocktail party in one very important respect. Hemmed in as you are by a dinner party place setting, it’s generally not possible to seek new … Getting to Know YouRead more

The chattering classes of the the food and wine world find plenty to argue about, but it’s safe to say that there is today near-universal agreement on one point: We all … Balm for the Old WoundRead more

  Lovers of wine and the vine can be found all over the world, in every known clime and every inhabited continent. Meanwhile, the places where wine can actually be produced … HeartlandsRead more

It may be the most viewed, most talked about, the most influential medical-related segment the long-running CBS newsmagazine show 60 Minutes ever produced. It was 1991 and host Morley Safer brought Americans some almost … The New French ParadoxRead more

One of the things we learn as we become more acquainted with the wide world of wine is that there’s almost no end to its variety — that it can be … Fat and Skinny Had a RaceRead more

The twentieth may have been the American century, but it was during the eighteenth that we made the transition from an ethnically uniform but marginally viable colony of the British Empire … What Yankee Doodle DrankRead more

An American’s first wine encounter in Europe can elicit surprise. It’s not that Europeans keep the best for themselves — a strangely persistent canard. Rather, it’s the temperature at which wine is … The Hand TestRead more

Our brain’s ability to store visual images in memory and more or less instantly compare them with new inputs for similarities and dissimilarities is impressive. Rather than deal with the many … Along for the RideRead more

Why is there something rather than nothing?  Why are you yourself and not someone else?  Where do babies come from? Such good questions! Big thanks to all of you who send … Since You AskRead more

You know by now that the Wine Corner cherishes a special fondness for winemakers with a historical consciousness; the kind of people who have a healthy respect for the old ways, … The Old Timey-est of Them All?Read more

Gone are the days when This Week in the Wine Corner was must-hear radio — when my predecessor, mentor and BFF Edward R. Murrow (above with mike and ciggie) intoned the Formaggio Kitchen … Minus Shirt and TieRead more

When the exotic beverage known as coffee first appeared in Europe in the second half of the 17th century, inns, taverns, alehouses, pubs and caterers of every description were already well-entrenched. … Meet Me at the CaféRead more