With a little general knowledge and a few insider tips, you, too, can confidently curate your virtual cart and discover some truly exceptional bottles on your own—and without breaking the bank, too. All it takes a quick study of the blueprint for the ecosystem that is the knotty digital vine—one I’ve laid out for you, my friends, below. (As they say, "Teach a man to fish"…)
Read MoreGather 'round, ye thirsty masses, for 'tis I: The Great Fixellini, emerging from a wine-induced slumber to bestow upon you my divine prophecies! Gaze into my crystal wine glass and peer into the swirling mists of wine future, as I uncork this year's inevitable wine truths for S. Pellegrino's "Fine Dining Lovers."
Read MoreHaving trouble navigating the world of wine as a beer lover? Fear not — I am here to bridge the gap, pairing six popular, accessible beers with equally approachable wines. Learn what to grab for your next party without breaking the bank (or your palate)!
Read MoreI’ve taken Maynard James Keenan to New York’s downtown restaurant Manhatta, where two Master Sommeliers have built a musical meal around his wines. To help us all get a better understanding of Keenan’s work, Chef Jason Pfeifer and John Ragan—Wine Director for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City—have paired unique dishes with five of Caduceus Cellars’ cuvees. Meanwhile, Andy Myers—Wine Director for José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup in Washington DC, and a well-versed metalhead and musician himself—has curated a soundtrack for each course. Best of all, Keenan will have the chance to play critic for once in his over-scrutinized life, giving feedback on every pairing.
Read MoreFickle Nebbiolo is perfect for expressing subtle differences in terroir—especially in the Langhe subregion of Piedmont, where soils and microclimates can differ greatly within a few footsteps. In fact, as in Burgundy, a single Langhe plot might be divided up amongst multiple vineyards. Thus, growing the grape in Barbaresco or Barolo will produce very different wines—even though the two famous DOCGs are only fifteen miles apart.
These four wineries not only represent some of the best Piedmont has to offer—they also help illustrate the greatest differences between Barolo and Barbaresco, and the range of unique qualities one can find within each.
Read MoreAs it happens, some of the most noteworthy cider in the United States comes from its greatest wine regions.
“Not every plot of land in a famous wine-growing appellation is perfectly suited to grapes,” says Dustin Wilson, master sommelier and co-founder of Verve Wine. “Often, you’ll see other types of plants in areas that might not be as well-suited for quality grape growing.”
Here are five cider makers from the nation’s greatest wine regions.
Read MoreCan we be honest with each other? Is this a safe space? We know that you like your off-dry Yellowtail Riesling or sweet Barefoot Moscato — but what you really like is spending $8 or less for a bottle of easy-drinking white wine. Did you know that for just a few bucks more, you can upgrade your experience twentyfold? Meet Torrontés: the aromatic Argentinian grape variety capable of producing the ultimate summer sipping wine.
Read MoreMy propensity for wine snobbery is normally high. But when it comes to summer drinking, we should be looking for two things: drinkability and value. Summer wine ought to be easy. It should be refreshing, ready to drink and, most of all, affordable. Here are five of the best inexpensive yet individual wines that will deliver the most quality for the least amount of money this summer.
Read MoreConvinced he could open my eyes to a new frontier of American wine, Josh Niernberg, chef and owner of Bin 707 Foodbar in Grand Junction, Colorado, sent me a box of vinos from his home state. And after crushing each unique bottle, I said to myself again and again, “Hot damn—this is from . . . Colorado?”
Read MoreBurdened by its reputation as a polarized region—one producing nothing but unaffordable Classified Growths or cheap, generic blends—Bordeaux has seen better centuries. But the tides are undeniably shifting. Thanks to a wave of younger, globally conscious winemakers, the rise of smaller appellations, and expanding consumer tastes, Bordeaux has more to offer Americans today than ever before.
Read MoreWe all want to drink like we’ve got Zuckerberg money. But the truth is, expensive wine doesn’t even taste as good as we think it does. According to science, we should be paying less attention to the price of each bottle, and more attention to what’s on the label. Fortunately, your friendly neighborhood Master Sommelier not only knows how to read a wine label—he or she can tell the difference between good stuff and total plonk. And as the guy or gal buying wine for your favorite restaurant or retail store, an M.S. also knows a thing or two about value. So I’ve asked four well-respected Master Somms from around the country to target some of the best wine steals in the seven most prestigious wine regions of France.
Read MoreWhile Burgundy gets most of its notoriety—both in price and quality—from its Premier Cru and Grand Cru classified wines, these bottles only make up a combined total of less than 20 percent of the region’s output. The real value can be found in Village wine (about 36 percent of all production), which is less refined than cru wine made from grapes grown on specifically designated plots of land, but generally more complex than regional Bourgogne (about half of all production). Of course, you can’t just pick any old village at random, as some present a very inconsistent range of quality. But a few appellations in particular reliably offer excellent wines that won’t require you to declare bankruptcy on your way home from shopping. Here's what you need to seek out, from north to south.
Read MoreNo matter how I may describe it with words, the key to actually understanding sherry is to simply pair it with food. I discovered this for myself at a small Jerez joint called Méson Don Paco, where I crushed cold Tio Pepe alongside a dish of green olives (I was there on a trip sponsored by Gonzalez Byass, Tio Pepe’s parent company). When a server, noting my excitement, brought over some salty, rich, fatty Iberico ham, I thought I had died and gone to Spanish heaven.
Read More"Four Master Sommeliers walk into a bar" sounds like the setup to a joke your wine-geek uncle would tell— but it did in fact happen on a chilly afternoon in January at New York's Lupulo. To lubricate discussion, I asked each of the four to bring their favorite affordable (under $30) bottle of wine of the moment. Together, over the course of 90 minutes—during which tasty Portuguese cuisine, accessible wine, and even (gasp!) refreshing beer was consumed—the five of us dissected what it means to be a Master Sommelier today.
Read MorePierre-Emmanuel Taittinger is just as passionate about Champagne as he is about the condition of the grounds that facilitate its production (including its lavatories). It may seem ironic that a producer of the classiest beverage on earth is obsessed with bathroom accommodations, but to this, Pierre-Emmanuel just shrugs and offers up his life motto: “Be serious. But don’t take it seriously.”
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