As caves go it’s not the sort to attract attention: no souvenir shops on the approach and no dramatic lighting within. What can be seen from the outside is a narrow … Wine’s Ghastly OriginsRead more

Today, the buzz word among wine’s chattering classes is minerality. You’ll hear it used to describe a broad range of sensory perceptions met in wine — from loam and humus to … Rocks in Our Wine, or Just in Our Heads?Read more

Some years ago, stranded in Greenfield, Massachusetts by the wrath of hurricane Irene, and eager for some supper and a bit of company, I popped into The People’s Pint, a celebrated … The ExperimentalistRead more

  Assigning numerical scores on the 100 point scale has emerged as a standard tool for navigating the complicated world of wine. The intent to simplify may originally have been legitimate … <span class="entry-title-primary">Do Numbers Point the Way to Better Wine?</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Don't Bet On It</span>Read more

  We’re not seriously suggesting that Ganymede is the sort to serve as patron saint of anything (putting some clothes on might be a step in the right direction), but if … <span class="entry-title-primary">What’s a Somm To Do?</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Hint: It's Not Just Storytelling</span>Read more

  My passport says I’m 3 inches high and two inches and a bit across the middle, but as a practical matter, I’m even smaller. That’s because I require margins top … Confessions of a Shelf TalkerRead more

You may be pleased to learn that the never-ending nature/nurture controversy is alive and well in the wine world. Why pleased?  Well, because it’s generally gratifying to be reminded that every … Does the Ground Speak?Read more

It seems we can now add Barcelona to the list of cities being loved to death. Along with Venice and Dubrovnik, Catalunya’s little jewel of a port city is now a place … Must You Love Me So Much?Read more

How mysterious is taste? Let’s begin by observing that by time-honored consensus, there’s no accounting for it. Meaning, as we take it, that there’s no way to demonstrate conclusively why one … The Taste of OthersRead more

The national authorities responsible for such things have strict rules about what can be said on a wine label. But there’s always room for creativity, and it can be hard to … <span class="entry-title-primary">Twisted, gnarled, thick of trunk</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Old vines make the best wine, right?</span>Read more

Read magazines and websites devoted to wine and you can’t help but notice how much attention is paid to news about recent vintages here and there – where the weather was … Seeing Through Wine Read more

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