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Don't Chicken Out With Your Turkey
The holiday table, a potential minefield for the Thanksgiving sommelier! (Photo (c) Eugene Bochkarev used by permission) In the United States, Thursday is one of our most important national holidays,...
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Gifting Wine
Gifting wine makes for a tasteful holiday gift (Photo by Maria Treshenkova, used by permission) Taking a bottle of wine to a dinner party has always been among the warmest ways of saying thank you to...
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Tasting One-on-One
Albert Finney as Henry Skinner in “A Good Year” As we head into the first full week of 2020, I’m reminded of just how personal a business wine can be. It is a global industry but in a very real sense...
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Rosé All Day
There is no category of still wine growing faster in popularity than rosé – for several years now, it’s been a booming category, and when, a few years ago, the then-married couple of Brad Pitt and...
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Riesling at 585
Riesling’s Birthday (Photo: Wines of Germany) Based on the discovery of a document that shows wine made from the riesling grape being sold on March 13, 1435, the Wines of Germany trade group has...
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Mastering Wine With Michael
The Master at work I was saddened to learn this week of the death of Michael Broadbent, MW, my first mentor in wine. He was 92 and lived a rich life full of great wine, and eulogies are pouring in...
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Social Distance Dining
There will be millions of stories coming out of the Coronavirus era recounting the problems with dining - a communal activity we are trying to work out in an era many of us spend in solitary isolation....
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Cocktails for Wine Lovers
Today is World Cocktail Day, as if we need a day set aside to encourage us to indulge in a libation in these troubled times. But, since some PR firm took the trouble to set this one day aside for...
View ArticleA Class Act
After a four month halt to our Fine Vintage, Ltd classes across the U.S. we are preparing to slowly restart in-person classes with strong health-conscious precautions in place. I have to confess, I’ve...
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It's National Wine and Cheese Day!
But then again, isn’t every day a wine and cheese day? In my classes, I often use cheese to illustrate basic points about how and why certain wines match particularly well with individual dishes. Wine...
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Whey Cool Pairings!
I’m so excited to be talking about wine and food pairings with my dear friend Elise Cordell, Champagne ambassador for GH Mumm and Champagne Perrier-Jouët! We’ll match three sparkling wines (two from...
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What a Friend We Have in Cheeses
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’m excited to be talking about wine and food pairings with my dear friend Elise Cordell, Champagne ambassador for GH Mumm and Champagne Perrier-Jouët tomorrow...
View ArticleA special offer to help you make the most of learning!
I’ve got some WSET courses coming up and a way you can double your experience - register for an in-class course, and you’ll also get an online course of your choice as a complementary bonus!I have been...
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A Recipe Treasure Trove
This is a blog about a blog. Actually, it’s a post that is teaser. And it’s going to make you hungry. With Michael Chiarello, our guest chef in 2006 I am director of a wonderful wine and food festival...
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Wine and Passion
When I was a student at the University of Minnesota, I took a course in the history of opera as part of my minor in music history. The course was fascinating because it was taught by a Pulitzer...
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Drinking Pink Year 'Round
I hope we are well past the time when any discussion of rosé wines needs caveats like, “they’re not all like white Zinfandel” or, “it’s okay until you pour a red wine.” It’s time to dispel a few...
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It's (always) Time for Italy!
The darker green areas are the mountain rangges that help define italy’s wines Across its 20 wine-producing regions and varied climates, Italy produces a stunning variety of wine. From crisp,...
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Tasting the Valley - a Napa Masterclass
Last month, Master Sommelier Chris Tanghe, Guildsomm’s director of education, led an enlightening masterclass on Napa Valley – its variations in climate, soil, topography and what I call cultural...
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“Cats and beer. It’s what we do.”
This is Monkeyface, one of the patrons of The Bag of Nails “Cats and beer. It’s what we do.” That’s the comment by Luke Daniels, proprietor of The Bag of Nails, a pub in Bristol, England. He notes...
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Benvenuto Brunello!
November 28th was Brunello Day is eight cities around the globe - Shanghai, Tokyo, Zurich, Toronto, Vancouver and, in the United States (where 25% of all Brunello produced is sold), New York, Dallas...
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