The offerings on restaurant food menus and wine lists in the 21st century have seen a wave of unprecedented changes. Ingredients, individually and in combination, are enticing and pleasing diners with novel and sophisticated tasting experiences. Similarly, wine lists are
Read MoreWine lists, in the hands of a skilled and customer-focused sommelier, can be the epitome of the overall experience at a restaurant. When curated with the food menu in mind, they can be the cornerstone of an exceptional dining experience
Read MoreRemember the wine lists of the 20th century? It was as if an invisible hand crafted the lists of every Italian neighborhood restaurant, every French bistro and every steakhouse. This monotonous uniformity fit the moment in Americans’ wine education. Offer
Read MoreIn this age of instant news, instant data availability and instant gratification, I am suspect of most information that crosses the screens of my multiple electronic devices. So much of the rhetoric on the internet, upon investigation, is ultimately opinion,
Read MoreAmericans drink more wine than any other nation. And most of the wine we consume is produced in the United States. So what wines do we prefer? Is there a national preference for certain styles of wines over others? Do
Read MoreBordeaux. Wait. Stop. Don’t turn this page. I know the word Bordeaux can elicit very mixed emotions – and facial expressions – every time it’s uttered or printed on a page. The wine world at large has done such a
Read MoreWhen I was younger I drank wine to be sociable, to be used as a prop for an engaging conversation, either with the other sex or with friends seeking to engage the other sex. And of course when I was
Read MoreWhat are Americans drinking? How much are Americans drinking? These are subjects I’ve explored on numerous occasions with readers. And each year the dynamics change. As the availability of international wines increases in the United States, and as Americans’ palates
Read MoreWhat began as an analytical approach to comparing the processing of grapes and cacao beans to their logical end-product of wine and chocolate, has stirred more interest than I expected. In recent columns, I’ve focused on the similarities in the
Read MoreThis past weekend, as I sat at my keyboard contemplating the 396th column of You Heard It through the Grapevine, an urge struck me to indulge in one of the topics I had previously focused on. So it is that
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