The Wine Idea

Importer Kermit Lynch was one of the first Americans to tramp the backroads of France’s wine country, knocking on doors and tasting in cellars that had never admitted an outsider before. … Kermit Lynch, Père Loyau and <br>Supper with a PrinceRead more

  Wine is attended by a surprising amount of ritual. For some, the traditional gestures of service are a comforting reminder that they are participants in an age-old liturgy. For others, … Say It T’aint SoRead more

The sketch at left is a bit of graffiti scratched by a 1st century Roman who may have been keen to have some fun caricaturing then Emperor Nero – as some … <span class="entry-title-primary">A Drink from the Sea</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">How not to drink like a barbarian</span>Read more

It’s a provocative question but not a facetious one. The thought came to me while having lunch recently with an old friend (now in his eighties) who groused “that not enough … <span class="entry-title-primary">“Arf!” Went the Cabernet</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">How winemaking resembles dog breeding</span>Read more

There’s plenty of disagreement about what’s mainly responsible for the expression of individual character in wine, but right now, if you had to bet, you’d be wise to put your money … <span class="entry-title-primary">Dirt’s Day in the Sun</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">What's behind our obsession with vineyard soils?</span>Read more

Though it’s widely assumed that the juice of red grapes is red, and that of white grapes runs clear, in fact, with rare exception, nearly all wine grapes express juice that … <span class="entry-title-primary">You Gotta Have Skin</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">It's what keeps your insides in</span>Read more

Birds gotta fly, vines gotta climb. It’s the way of things, and for most of the history of winemaking, it proved convenient to give domesticated grapevines the opportunity to do what … <span class="entry-title-primary">At the Corner of Elm and Vine</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Wine doesn't grow on trees. Or does it?</span>Read more

Millions of wine drinkers rely on tasting notes provided by professional critics to guide their wine-buying.  Recently there’s been quite a bit written that’s skeptical about just how reliable such notes … Have We Met?Read more

 Winemakers with property on the steep hillsides that overlook Germany’s Mosel River between Trier and Koblenz enjoy a worldwide market for their cooly aromatic, austerely-structured white wines. The road to success … Marx on WineRead more

The bold adventurers who first landed on the shores of what they thought of as the New World didn’t come alone. The newcomers brought horses and pigs to the Americas, and … <span class="entry-title-primary">The Little Bug That Could . . . and Did</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">Phylloxera and the Great European Vineyard Do-over</span>Read more

The chalkboard that hangs over our wine corner shelves lists a hundred or so lesser-known grapes from which wine is made today. It stands as a tediously hand-lettered warning to those … Why So Many?Read more

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