Grapevine

  We read with envy the numerous accounts of rare, high-end wines sold in the marketplace. Collectors enter into bidding frenzies to acquire wines from highly rated wineries and highly rated vintages. However, for most of us 99 percenters, after

Several readers have told me that they are confused by descriptive terms used to characterize wines. This week’s column will take you down the path of understanding, and developing, a wine glossary. Now you can dazzle each other with a

Are you one of those unfortunate wine lovers who have an adverse reaction to drinking wine? Do you peer at a glass of wine and wonder if the wine gods are going to strike you with a bevy of unpleasantries:

I’ve penned several columns on the subject of sparkling wines. At this time of year, with the holidays looming and visions of tiny bubbles in a fluted glass dancing in my head, I become immersed in the joys of indulging

Last week I reported on the state of the cork industry. Improvements in cork technology and techniques have met the competing challenges of alternative bottle closures such as the screwcap and synthetic material. The incidence of cork taint, the result

Several years ago, I penned a column discussing the relative qualities and desirability of various wine bottle closures. Consumers continue to be confronted with an assortment of alternatives to the traditional natural cork. Plastic corks, synthetic corks, hi-tech natural corks,

In the last few years, a glass of wine being sipped in movie scenes has become as common as a cigarette dangling from an actor’s lips in films over a good part of the last century. Just as this is

It’s Friday night. My wife and I are settling in for one of our favorite ways to unwind for the weekend: pizza, wine and a flick. We began this tradition in the days of VHS rentals at Blockbuster (yes, it’s

In past columns I’ve enjoyed reporting on state dinners hosted by American presidents. The long-standing tradition of entertaining world leaders at the White House typically provides a valuable insight into the current state of affairs between nations and their representatives.

Yes, it’s November, and this is the season our thoughts gravitate to ski slopes and holiday travel to the homes of family and friends. But not this year. As I write this column, the leaves are still on the trees;