Joe Dressner, a top wine importer, and one of the leading voices for non-manipulated or "un-spoofulated" wines, has recently passed away from brain cancer at the age of 60. His Louis/Dressner portfolio of wines (He was a partner with his wife,Denyse Louis, and Kevin McKenna) is one of the...

South Africa might not be at the top of the obvious list for culinary destinations, but there are a lot of reasons why you might want to rethink that list.

Peter Tempelhoff, currently the Executive Chef overseeing the five Relais Chateaux restaurants within "The Collection by Liz...

We are very fortunate to live in a time when most of the wine produced in the world is good. Good in the sense of being correctly made, and palatable. For many consumers, that is just fine. I understand the sentiment. I want to own a car that is...

In a city as competitive as New York, small wine distributors flood the marketplace. At first glance, this situation may seem counter-intuitive to the distribution consolidation that has taken place around the United States. The New York market, as well as much of the Northeast, has always been driven by...

Some of Hong Kong's greatest culinary talent will be on display this weekend at the 29th Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. The Hong Kong Tourism Bureau has brought the considerable talents of two restaurants that have achieved the rarified prestige of two Michelin stars.

Executive Chef...

Peter M.F. Sichel, an iconic name in the wine industry, led no ordinary life. Born in 1922 in Mainz Germany, Peter was born into a family of wine merchants, which he is the fourth generation. At the outbreak of World War II, he along with his family members fled...

This is a story of history, both ancient and recent, geography, family struggle, loss, tragedy, and redemption. Somewhere woven into this Biblical story, about this Biblical place, is the Ghosn's family story, that takes place in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Sami Ghosn describes his childhood, and the radical twist...

1) Wine criticism and the internet | Wine information in the U.S. until the past 10 years came primarily from two sources: Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate and The Wine Spectator. There were certainly other publications in the market, but these two had a stranglehold on influencing the buying patterns...

If timing is everything, then Bruce Neyers entered the wine industry with impeccable timing. The 1970s brought about a re-birth to California wine, and headed it in a direction that would soon be in the mix with the great wines of Europe. Bruce, with a scientific academic background, curious mind...

What is an artisanal wine, and what are the factors that are necessary to call a wine artisanal? I posed this question to five wine industry leaders. I think what is interesting is although there are factors that certainly can be agreed upon, most of that agreement would be...

How many times have you gone into a restaurant to see a cookie cutter wine list, that is almost a duplicate of the next hundred restaurants in the same locale? This is not an accident. Some wine distributor has taken over the burden of writing the wine list, to...

Joel Peterson is a man who recognizes his good fortune. He is a spiritual man, with a love of the arts, a sense of humor, a sense of history, and an appreciation of beauty. He is humble, and recognizes when he started, back in 1976, that along with his wit,...

Just a few years ago, before the economic meltdown of 2008, there seemed to be a barrier between wine as a part of our eating culture, and wine as a central prop for having the right "label" to show off. Today, there is more pride than ever in...

I have listened to a lot of arguments regarding the treatment of ducks and geese in the production of foie gras, and I have to say that I really don't understand the moral dilemma. Animal cruelty is something that I, along with most people, would fully agree is reprehensible, and...

Recently, I had an opportunity to meet with Greg La Follette, the namesake behind some wines that I believe will race to the top of the sommelier's "must have" Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of California. These wines have IT. He takes risk in making them. Greg's wines talk to you....

Somehow, when all the critics declared that Bordeaux's 2009 vintage was the finest they had ever tasted, the clamoring from the wine drinking public in the US was very lukewarm. There are many legitimate factors that have come into play at the same time. First, even for those that...

He always told me, "Never forget Israel." He, being Adam Montefiore, and his passion for his adopted country, and the wines they produce, left a lasting impression on me. At the time I knew Adam, he was my mentor as the export manager at the Golan Heights winery, and...

Chris Phelps probably was born to be a winemaker. He grew up in the California grape growing region of Livermore, and set out to follow the path of many prominent winemakers in California; a University of California degree from their Davis campus. He studied in the enology program in addition...

Grape growers never used to say anything about being "organic". They didn't bother to mention much about the subject, because "organic" and high quality wines were not equated in the wine buyer's mind. Today, the public's interest in healthy food, and healthy wine has changed this perception. Quality grape growers...