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It all started back in 1652 when the Dutch East India Company planted vines in South Africa. This was done so that grapes and wine could be given to sailors during their voyage along the Spice Route. The vitamin C in fresh fruit warded off scurvy; si...

I have seen a description of grappa that compares its transition to the fairytale of Cinderella. Poor and in rags, with the help of her fairy godmother, she became a beautifully dressed young lady who won the heart of a prince at the ball. A 1997 New...

Petite sirah is one of the world’s least planted grapes, and there is probably more in California than anywhere else. First created in France about one hundred and fifty years ago from a cross between syrah and the almost extinct peloursin, it is so...

I really enjoy opening an old bottle of wine and thinking of all that has taken place since the grapes were ripening on the vine. For instance, I had strategically placed a double magnum of 1990 Cignale on our kitchen island before Neil and Maria Em...

You wish to take a wine gift with you for Christmas dinner and you cannot decide on red, white or rosé — so don’t. Pay $26.10 and hand them a bottle of Momokawa g 50 Genshu sake. They will try not to look at you as if you are loco; enlighten them w...

I am thinking party time as well as roast turkey and so would like to make a few suggestions that you may not have considered but first, let’s go for the obvious — champagne. It can be wonderful as an aperitif. Because of its acidity and tiny bubbles...

Wouldn’t it be fabulous to give an important friend or associate one hundred years in a single gift? All you must do is purchase a bottle of 10, 20, 30 and 40-year-old Graham’s tawny port. Let me see if I can persuade you to do so by supplying a few...

A few rules. I start with a quote from the first wine book I ever owned, The Signet Encyclopedia of Wine: “Every mortal should taste at least one great port on this earth before they come to die — no matter what it costs.” The book was published in 1...

Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast Magazine are now releasing their annual lists of wines that they feel deserve special attention. As I write on November 12, Spectator has just named their selections for No 10 and No 9 of their top 100. By the time ...

I am thinking so much of a charming town plaza with towering trees, restaurants, art galleries, antique stores, wine-tasting establishments and even a boutique for cats and dogs. The town is Healdsburg in Sonoma wine country and, as I write, about 7...

This month, it seems as if we have had more visits from winery owners and marketing people than usual. We always learn something from them and they make my goal of “learning something new every day” a little easier. The first to arrive was Jeff Cairn...

One of my office compatriots has suggested that I write about the relationship between music and wine as this is a particularly significant week in my life for sound in general. I am testing a tiny microelectronic device that samples the sounds arou...