Category Archives: Wine

In 2018 I led 63 Wine Tastings, mostly in the Grapes Bordeaux Room, a few in private homes. Over the course of the year there was a high degree of diversity to the themes. From modest wines that we enjoy … Continue reading →

As some already know… I am the lucky guy on the Grapes Team who gets to lead wine tastings for our local customers… something I have been doing for 17+ years. Since January 1 I have hosted 64 tastings, both … Continue reading →

Someone whispered at our table, “the four toughest jobs in the world in order of difficulty: Winemaker of Domaine Leflaive, Mayor of New York City, Coach of Notre Dame Football and President of the United States.” John and I were … Continue reading →

On a land mass as big as nearly the Continental United Sates, Australia’s geography hardly seems suitable for viticulture.  The northern rim is a tropical climate covered in rainforest, woodland, grassland and mangrove swamp.  The massive interior is desert and … Continue reading →

One of the most misunderstood wines in America is Rose.  For many, it is “White Zinfandel.”  For others it is the first wine they drank to excess when they were well under age.  Do you remember sneaking into your parent’s … Continue reading →

Try it, you’ll like it!  Or maybe you won’t.  That’s the conundrum… a seemingly endless sea of wine, different wines, different vintages, different labels.  It’s all so confusing.  And when all is said and done, it’s still a matter of … Continue reading →

You say tomato, I say tomahto.  Yes, Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape varietal (and Petite Sirah – known as Durif in France– is a completely a different varietal and a story for a different day). Its origin is … Continue reading →

It is ironic that on a night as a host, you may serve spectacular reds and whites during the course of a dinner, and if you take the extra step to serve a dessert wine, it will be that wine … Continue reading →

Sometime after 48 AD the Roman Legions made it to St. Emilion and established vineyards to produce wine.  It’s a thirsty business, conquering the world. From these humble beginnings along the Gironde estuary and the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, the … Continue reading →

We hear the distinctive pop and it signals the celebration about to begin.  Our eyes brighten as we watch the sparkling wine being slowly poured into a slender flute.  No other wine is as closely identified with those important occasions … Continue reading →

America loves Chardonnay.  We drink more of it than of any other wine.  We grow it in virtually every State that is planted to vinifera vines.  We produce more of it than they do in France!  In the words of … Continue reading →

Viticulture first appeared in the Rhone Valley around 600 BC; but it wasn’t until the 13th Century when the Papal See moved from Rome to Avignon that production of wine significantly expanded. In contrast to the Northern Rhone which is … Continue reading →

From the Department of “Preaching to the Choir”, I read with glee an article written by Noah Baumbach in the pages of The New Yorker {January 26, 2009}.  I have long known of the benefits of drinking good red wine and have … Continue reading →

“Would you be so kind as to please pass the Port?” Here we go. I wish I could leave the table. “Would you be so kind…” He sounds like a supercilious idiot. On one occasion somebody said I had a “supercilious” manner. I didn’t know … Continue reading →

You could say that I was planning the afternoon for a year (actually it was 53 weeks).  A year ago we hosted a wine tasting of White Grand Cru Burgundies… and it was one of the most successful tastings we … Continue reading →

Although we shared in the inspiration, I can not take any credit for being the architect for the wine tasting… that function belonged to Grapes’ owner, John Caplan.  My sole contribution was to recommend the first wine, which was actually … Continue reading →

I love wine. In descending order: Red Bordeaux, White Burgundy, Brunello di Montalcino. But to truly love wine is to appreciate the greatness of wines from other countries, from other regions… And as mush as I love wine from France … Continue reading →

William Styron wrote in Sophie’s Choice, “But she only knew that the savor of it gave her an unparalleled sense of delight, a luscious and reckless and great-hearted warmth that spread to her toes, validating all quaint and ancient maxims … Continue reading →

I think I was 10 when my Mother took me to the Guggenheim Museum for the first time. I don’t remember liking it. Just that it was an art gallery in a descending spiral… imagine a continuing peel of an … Continue reading →

For this story to make sense, this you have to know: for four years at Union College my white wine experience was confined to the slender green bottles of Boone’s Farm Apple Wine. Consumption was an exercise in math. Road … Continue reading →

Perhaps you have heard me say, “you don’t have to be launching a battleship to open a bottle of Champagne.” It’s true, too many folks are caught up in popping the cork only if a celebration is on hand. So … Continue reading →

I’m not the best judge of distances.  I stand by my ball… look at the green and say, “it looks like about an eight iron…”  Now this is not the way it’s done by good players.  Good players look at … Continue reading →

I wish that I could report that there has been a wine related sketch that had been buried deep in my breast screaming to escape. But this is not the case. Curious. Particularly when you consider how much I love … Continue reading →

The advert caught my eye, it read, “Dine Like Royalty… Five Courses of Food & Seven Wines”. Sounds like something that you have to get dressed up in uncomfortable clothes for… and then spend the evening worrying about whether you’ve … Continue reading →