ShareJoseph Phelps, that is. A few representatives of the Ladies Tasting Society, drawn by our long-time love of the winery, forked out $150 each for a special dinner paired with Joseph Phelps’s latest vintages. Two of us, having just returned from a week’s family vacation in a spot more known for its surf breaks than [...]
ShareI spotted this word in the November 15 issue of “Wine Spectator”: it describes the crime of letting a wine age too long before you drink it. It’s vinocide when, for example, you buy a lively sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s latest vintage — and then forget about it in your closet for two years, [...]
ShareFor our 13-person Thanksgiving feast this year, we enjoyed a variety of wines, from a value-minded treats I scored for $16, to a carefully-aged treasure I pulled from the recesses of my cellar.
But guess what the group fave was? For this most-American of holidays, guests seemed most drawn to the most-American vintage on the [...]
Share1. Girl’s Legs Wine Bottle Stopper, $24.95
It’s a Playmate, In Your Chardonnay
I’ve never liked those vodka ads with hot models lounging in martini glasses. This subtext to this tchotchke devolves in the same downward ideological direction, like: I was minding my own business, enjoying my grand cru, and this stripper appeared out of nowhere, dove [...]
ShareFor most people, Africa summons up images of lions, tigers, and baboons. So in preparation for our trip to South Africa, and in relation to the most famous and dangerous game we’d see on safari, my wife liked to quiz me: “What are the big five?” (The answer is lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water [...]
ShareAromas of fresh-baked bread, wet stones, and citrus fruit jump from this wine. It’s got a pure, vivid color between straw and gold, with a slight touch of sunset red. Lots of medium-sized bubbles swirl toward the surface. The wine washes over the palate with loads of lemon, blood orange, and golden-delicious apple flavors, leaving [...]
ShareLast spring my tasting group, the Ladies Tasting Society, held its monthly meeting in an unusual, desert locale: Palm Springs, California — on the occasion of the Dinah Shore Women’s Weekend, to be exact. The temperature was hot, the music fast, and the ladies lovely. But what, we wondered, should we drink poolside?
Never mind that [...]
ShareAre you going to get the most mileage possible out of the wine you’ll be drinking this holiday season? I’m not talking about rationing your great aunt’s sherry. I’m talking about matching your wine with your food – which, if done right, makes both your beverage and your dinner taste better.
Problem is, the traditional Thanksgiving [...]
ShareOne of the great things about wine is that you can lose your virginity again and again. Not literally: in wine, no matter how much you drink or how many books you read, something will come along and make you feel like fresh-faced novice all over again.
So you might say that in the case of [...]
ShareThis big red has a deep, dark color — almost black — and a powerful nose of black fruit, cassis, a touch of Christmas spice (cinnamon, nutmeg), and lots of vanilla and toast. You can tell it spent a lot of time in new oak; wines from its region typically do, but this example might [...]