The Wine Idea

God rest ye merry, he/she/they; Let nothing you dismay. Keep the faith and with good cheer Make glad your holiday.   Kwanza, Solstice, Christmas Tide Choose one (or more) above. Or none of these, if you aver It’s … Rest Ye MerryRead more

It’s very likely that the first thing you learned about wine, even before you were old enough to have tasted any, is that it comes in two colors, red and white. … Between hue and meRead more

Most of us turn to wine, if not as a vehicle of relaxation, at least as a gateway to it. If you’ve gone so far as to acquire the apéritif habit, … Should wine confront . . . or just cajole?Read more

The picture above isn’t abstract expressionist art you might encounter in a Newbury Street gallery. It’s a thermal image of a section of the North Atlantic. The warm Gulf Stream appears as … Sexy, dangerous, sacred, profaneRead more

What accounts for the originality of a wine – the critical thing or things that makes it what it is and different from others?  To ask the question is to reopen … Professor Plum in the libraryRead more

Here in the FKC Wine Corner we’re frequently asked for recommendations — and we do our best to respond to them individually and thoughtfully. Often, your reco requests are pretty routine; sometimes not … May we recommend . . .Read more

Browsing for some information about an old Bordeaux (the 1967 Château Beychevelle) a while ago led me to a 1973 New York Magazine story whose banner you see above. The author, Romanian-born Alexis … Come back, Alexis Bespaloff . . . <br>and bring wine prices with you!Read more

Is wine art or craft? It’s the kind of question that can seem fun to knock around when the evening grows late and the company is the sort to have opinions … The caterpillar and the butterflyRead more

Today, most wine education takes the form of a guided tour of what we might call the appellation trail. Since appellations constitute the fundamental categories nation states use to organize and … It’s like this. Sort of.Read more

It’s no mystery that quality is a rather mysterious concept; one of those things everyone understands perfectly until it’s time to define it. Judgments of quality in wine are particularly challenging … Quality wine? What’s that?Read more

Just how many years into the natural wine era (trend? wave? meme?) we may now be, is, like many other aspects of natural wine itself, not very clear. But I can … Is Natural Wine Getting Less Natural?Read more

It’s said that this is a time when respect for real expertise is on the wane, its reputation as a source of solutions for whatever ails us under assault. Heaven knows … Only You Can SayRead more