September 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Gordon Ramsay Blasts Sommeliers
An excerpt from a recent Playboy 20 Questions interview:PLAYBOY: “What’s something a restaurant owner never wants a customer to know?” RAMSAY: “That customers should complain more. You know, food is expensive nowadays, & these fucking sommeliers come along with their thousand-page wine list & practically throw it in your lap. They know customers will be intimidated &...
3 tags
Joe Dressner: A Life Remembered
I liked Joe Dressner from the moment I met him. Moments before a tasting of his wines in October, 2010, at The Wine Bottega in Boston’s North End, Joe walked in, took one look at me, & said, “Hey, I know you!” “You do?!” I thought. I was so dumbstruck that a person whose work as a wine importer I knew so well would recognize me, a guy who’s done nothing in...
3 tags
The Best Pairing Since Brady & Welker
I don’t know if Harpoon UFO unfiltered pumpkin ale is the best beer in the world, but with my best girl, delicious Indian takeout food, & the New England Patriots on television, it was the best beer in the world tonight. And that’s something no 100-point scale can ever measure.
August 2011
1 post
“I’ve found this to be the year where a lot of people I went to high school &...”
– Aziz Ansari (via somuchsass)
July 2011
8 posts
4 tags
What's the most ridiculous wine tasting note?
I offer this one, excerpted from Terry Theise’s “Reading between the Wines”:
“This dramatic wine has the burnish of torched sienna, that hint of Tuscan chicken, perhaps even pullets, that gamey, feathery aroma; a dishy first impression of guppies spawning & bracken roasting in the Castilian sun, & the high wind blowing from offshore when a garbage scow has...
26 tags
American Wine Life - Brought To You By Google
Google’s recent inclusion of Life Magazine’s entire archive in its Google Books feature details the rich tapestry of American life in the 20th Century. From 1936 to 1972, Life published 1,860 weekly issues & now Google has made them available for free. You’ll find Richard Meryman’s famous last interview with Marilyn Monroe & Alfred Eisenstadt’s famous photo of...
6 tags
Tales From A Dusty Old Wine Diary
Text originally published Oct, 27, 2009. Recently I rediscovered my first wine diary. It was a simple book I used to use to capture labels & tasting notes as I tried wines for the first time years ago. It’s an amazing trip down memory lane to see what I was sampling in my wine infancy. So many of these wines helped me form opinions I carry to this day, but there are also a few...
30 tags
Wine Blogging Wednesday #62: A Grape By Any Other...
This post originally appeared Oct. 15, 2009. When I moved to Tumblr, it was lost in the move. It’s my pleasure to resurrect it & say cheers to all my fellow Wine Blogging Wednesday peers. It’s been my pleasure to participate in the now time-honored tradition that is Wine Blogging Wednesday but this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure to host! “A Grape By Any Other...
Read The Judgment Of Paris In Under Two Minutes
Time Magazine republished their entire collection of articles dating back to 1943. Now, for the first time in decades, we wine geeks can read the 359 words that shocked the world in 1976. Here is George M. Taber’s landmark reporting from France.Judgment of Paris Monday, Jun. 07, 1976 link Americans abroad have been boasting for years about California wines, only to be greeted in most cases...
3 tags
Guy Food: Baked Macaroni & Cheese With Chorizo
Face it: we all love mac & cheese. Hot carbs with melted cheese holding it all together. Hell yeah, what’s better than that? Add a little meat & this comfort food becomes Guy Food. Add some good meat like chorizo & you can eat like a rockstar. Make it all from scratch & you can impress the ladies too. Dude, bonus.Ingredients: 1 pound elbow macaroni 1 pound chorizo, thinly...
1 tag
Charcuterie: The Breakfast Of Champignons
Breakfast like kings: We had four different types of salami, Babybel cheese, goat cheese with fennel pollen, olives, cornichons, crusty bread with sesame seeds, Granny Smith apple, a goat cheese medallion with fig jam, & two bites of dark chocolate.
7 tags
Massive Boston Wine Sale
If you’re in the Boston area (or will be) through the end of August & want to enjoy remarkable wines the caliber of the 1979 Mouton Rothschild & 1983 La Mission Haut Brion for less than $50 each with dinner, hit me up in the comments.
June 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Frequently Asked Questions
It happened again. I went to a party this weekend & when some guests found out how often I drink bubbles, they hit me with a barrage of questions I’ve heard endlessly:
“Why is Champagne so expensive?”
“Isn’t Cava sweet?”
“What about Prosecco?”
And, as always, “What’s your favorite Champagne?”
After a quick round of,...
6 tags
Bubbly Blowout At Bin Ends
If you live in Massachusetts, here’s your chance to grab some terrific Champagne on sale for up to 45% off! Starting June 3, Bin Ends in Braintree is blowing out the following bottles: Non Vintage Camille Saves Brut Cart Blanche - was $54 - now $30 - save 45% Non Vintage Camille Saves Brut Rose - was $68 - now $40 - save 40% Non Vintage Serveaux Brut Blanc de Noirs - was $66 - now $38 - save 42%...
9 tags
Lambrusco Isn't The '70's Porn Star Of Wine...
Good Lambrusco doesn’t have to be an oxymoron.
Back in the 1970s, Riunite was the most popular Italian wine in America. Of course, then we were also listening to disco, caring for pet rocks, & reading Irma Rombauer, so what did we know?
Today we drink Lambrusco in much the same way we drink Pabst Blue Ribbon: Served with a heaping side of irony. But unlike a PBR tallboy, our pal...
May 2011
2 posts
4 tags
What Does Champagne Drappier Taste Like? Don't ask...
This is a photo of a bottle of Champagne Drappier Carte-D’Or Brut that I brutally beheaded back in Dec. 2010, celebrating finishing my first 5k since I left the U.S. Army in 1998. Fact is, I’ve got dozens of bottles I’ve consumed & sabered that I haven’t written about yet. Now that Summer is nearly upon us, I suppose it’s time for some belated Spring Cleaning....
21 tags
Introducing Zarb Champagne
If Pol Roger is Kate Middleton, this stuff is Lady Gaga. Zarb Champagne first arrived in the United States at the end of March 2011 but rest assured it’s no April Fool’s Day joke. This 55% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir blend from winemaker Baron Fuente hails from the Charly-Sur-Marne village in the Champagne region of France. But that’s where the similarities to...
April 2011
4 posts
7 tags
Pol Roger Named Official Royal Wedding Champagne
From the press release:
Champagne Pol Roger is delighted that their Brut Réserve Non Vintage, has been chosen to be served at the reception following the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales to Miss Catherine Middleton on 29th April 2011.
Patrice Noyelle, Président du Directoire, commented that, “It has been quite difficult to maintain secrecy since we were first advised...
25 tags
Champagne & Pretty Ladies: A Photo Essay
For decades, beautiful women have been the “face” of the Champagne industry. Let’s admire some of them.
Zoe Cassavetes
American film director Zoe Cassavetes showed love for Dom Perignon rose. Photo by Dom Perignon.
Jessica Grist
British model & dancer Jessica Grist soaked in a bath with a magnum of Dom Perignon. Photo from yslaurent.
Eva Herzigova
Sports Illustrated...
3 tags
Check Out Champagne Louis Roederer's New Packaging
All photos courtesy of the Champagne Louis Roederer Facebook Fan Page.
9 tags
What Would John Galt Drink?
What type of bubbles do you think Hank Reardon (Grant Bowler) & Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) are enjoying in this screen capture from the new Atlas Shrugged I movie?
There’s no way that’s Cava, but what do you think it actually is? Champagne? Domestic sparkling wine? Which brand do you think it is?
Photo from The A.V. Club.
March 2011
1 post
14 tags
What We Can Learn From Daily Grape
What would you do if you could start all over again? If you could reinvent yourself & your creative outlet, what would you do? If you knew then what you know now, how would you do it differently?
I imagine this scene in the VaynerMedia office in New York: Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling “author” & the face of Wine Library in Springfield, N.J., is having a staff meeting with his...
February 2011
5 posts
7 tags
NYT Trendwatch: Blogs Wane As The Young Drift To...
Are blogs on the decline? According to the New York Times they are.
In a Feb. 20 article, author Verne G. Kopytoff reports that from 2006 to 2009, blog use among those aged 12-17 fell by half. Among 18-33 year olds, blogs use dropped two percent from 2008-2010.
Echoing my own thoughts, Kopytoff writes: “Former bloggers said they were too busy to write lengthy posts & were...
Drinking Alone On Valentine's Day
“I won’t forget All the times I’ve waited patiently for you And you’ll do just what you used to do And I will be alone again tonight, my dear.” - lyrics by Bryan Maclean.
Valentine’s Day looms & unless you made dinner reservations months ago, you might be out of luck & flying solo. But even if you are feeling like a chump, you can still drink like a champ!
“If I had to...
8 tags
Champagne Campaign: Roederer Estate Brut Rosé
What the world needs now is not another love song. What the world needs now is high-quality, affordable sparkling wine.
Enter Roederer Estate. Building upon a 200 year history of Champagne Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate was founded in Anderson Valley, Calif., 125 miles north of San Francisco. Jean-Claude Rouzaud, then president of Champagne Louis Roederer, selected the site for its premium...
15 tags
Champagne Campaign: Duval-Leroy
Champagne Duval-Leroy is the story of one widow: Carol Duval-Leroy (above). She first discovered Champagne when she married. But when her husband Jean-Charles died suddenly in 1991 at the age of 49, she took over the house & raised the standard of production. She’s as strong willed a widow as Lily Bollinger or Veuve Clicquot herself.
Now the ninth largest Champagne house, Duval-Leroy...
2 tags
Champagne Campaign: Pommery Pink Pop Rosé
Don’t bother.
It’s rare for me to suggest you skip opening a bottle of Champagne, but this is one of those times. Sure, this 187ml bottle of Pommery Pink Pop Rosé looks cute & you want to put a straw in it & suck it down, but don’t. You’re going to end up feeling disappointed by the muted flavors. And Champagne is never supposed to make you feel sad.
Instead,...
January 2011
4 posts
9 tags
Champagne Campaign: Camille Saves Cuvee Brut Rosé
Note: As I write this, I am beginning my 211th consecutive day of drinking sparkling wine. Unfortunately, this website is so far behind that it’s no longer a reflection of what I’m actually doing in real life. What to do? Starting today, no more numbers. Instead, I’m going to focus on bringing the freshest information about the bubbles found in my glass as often as I am able. I...
12 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 118-119: Charles Ellner...
In baseball, everyone knows about Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, & Alex Rodriguez. They’re the legends of the sport & their names have become larger than the game. But what about the underrated, under appreciated Stan “The Man” Musial, Eddie Murray, & Mike Mussina? These guys showed up every day, turned out great numbers, & still never get the credit they so richly...
10 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 116-117: Laurent-Perrier...
The Champagne world can be as corporate & greedy as anything ever seen on Wall Street.
But former Laurent-Perrier Chairman Bernard de Nonancourt, who died at the ripe old age of 90 in December, 2010, was a throwback to an earlier time before corporate entities ruled the bubbly landscape.
Underneath that slick sheen of The Suits, the Champagne industry is really a collection of family...
5 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 108-115
Happy new year, friends!
I’m afraid my writing is very far behind. While this post brings us up to day 115, in real life I’m actually up to day 181! I’ve been good about drinking, but not so good about writing. That became clear to me recently when I realized half my Top 10 Champagnes of 2010 list I hadn’t even written about yet.
In an effort to account for those...
December 2010
4 posts
30 tags
Top 10 Champagnes of 2010
This has been one heck of a year! In the past six months, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling some of the finest Champagnes in the world & met some amazing people along the way. Here are a few of my favorites bottles & the people I shared them with.
Wine geeks may notice the inclusion of only one “Grower Champagne.” Though the concept of so-called “farmer fizz”...
24 tags
Talent Deserving Wider Recognition
Hot on the heels of our list of Best New Food & Drink Blogs 2010, we want share another list with you.
These are the unsung heros of the online food & drink publishing world. These folks plug away day & night, tirelessly creating great content. They don’t always get all the love, so here’s our chance to give them some!
We start with Twitter, where “Bobby Parkerchuk,” the...
12 tags
Best New Food & Drink Blogs 2010
If 2009 was the year food & drink blogs finally started to make a difference, 2010 might be remembered as the year the wheat was started to be separated from the chaff.
The quality of writing is as high or higher than ever, but the quantity of new sites devoted to food & wine seemed like it dwindled. When pressed, many prominent wine & food bloggers had a difficult time naming a...
24 tags
Champagne Campaign, Day 108: Flute Bar Is The...
You might want to sit down for this.
Ready? Get this: There’s a bar that serves only Champagne. I know, right?!
Flute Bar, with locations in New York City & Paris, is officially the greatest place on Earth. As Kim & I entered their Gramercy location in Manhattan recently, I thought I had died & gone to Heaven. Not the Judeo-Christian Heaven with angels floating on clouds...
November 2010
10 posts
11 tags
Champagne Campaign, Day 107: Bourgeois Family...
Recently Kim & I were privileged to attend a Bourgeois Family Selections portfolio wine dinner at Upstairs On The Square in Cambridge, Mass.
It was a rare opportunity to have Jean-Philippe Bourgeois, owner of Bourgeois Family Selections, a small importer of boutique French wines that focuses on terroir-centric wine production. The dinner focused on the wines of the Rhône with a few...
2 tags
Champagne Campaign: The Awful Truth
During this holiday season, I’ve met lots of new people. Invariably, when talk turns to what I do, I mention this Champagne Campaign I’m on to sip sparkling wine every day for a year. Don Quixote with an empty glass, if you will.
People always have questions. “Is it Champagne every day or sparkling wine?” “Is it a different Champagne every day?”...
5 tags
Champagne Campaign, Day 106: Ed Hardy Sparkling...
Ed Hardy Sparkling Rose Wine
Don’t buy this shit. Seriously, it’s terrible.
Unless you’re a douchebag who lives & breathes “Jersey Shore” & wears a shirt with a dragon on it, you’re going to hate this.
This is a perfect example of taking an inferior product & slapping a recognizable logo on it & selling it only to cash in on its popularity....
5 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 104-105: Champagne...
Champagne Jacquesson Brut Cuvée 732
From the website:
The need for consistency in a non vintage brut creates limitations on quality that Jacquesson wish to avoid in their search for the best possible blend from the available material. Since this entails making a wine of different personality each year, identifying each separate cuvée becomes essential.
Cuvee 732 is an assemblage based on the...
8 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 102-103: Besserat De...
Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines Brut
One of the utter joys of this year-long Champagne journey is uncovering some otherwise unknown sparklers. Take this Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines Brut for instance. Good luck finding it in the Boston area. Fact is, many people - even those in the wine trade - haven’t even heard of it, much less stock it. I was lucky enough to inspire TJ...
3 tags
5 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 100-101: Gosset Brut
Gosset Brut “Excellence”
Do you like the smell of fresh-baked bread? I know I do! Slather some butter on there & it becomes one of the most satisfying comfort foods ever. Combine those aromas with a spritz of lemon & lime & flowers & a silky smooth midpalate to finish & you’ve got this Gosset Brut “Excellence.” The 45% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay,...
5 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 98-99: Billecart-Salmon...
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé
Some of the finest bubbles & most persistent mousse I’ve encountered yet during this Champagne journey. Though it was quite tasty straight out of the refrigerator, this Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé really opened up & grew on Kim & I as it inched ever closer to room temperature. A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, & still Pinot Noir, it smelled of...
2 tags
Champagne Campaign Update
Once again, life intrudes upon updating. I’ve been so busy with a new contract job (more about that another time) & writing HTML5 Rich Media Applications Cookbook & spending time with Kim that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to write here. Something has to give. So starting today I plan to make more frequent but much shorter updates to keep you abreast of the fine...
2 tags
Champagne Campaign, Day 97: Kim's Culinary Kickoff
White anchovies. Beef hearts. Calves brains. Sea urchin. Fried egg on a pizza. Soup dumplings. These are a few of the things my best girl Kim enjoyed for the first time with me during the past month. But so far nothing had prepared her for what was about to happen next: Cooking dinner for me.
Truth be told, I sort of tricked her into it. During a conversation, she asked me how difficult it was...
October 2010
15 posts
8 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 95-96: Taittinger Brut
My friend Bertil Jean-Chronberg from The Beehive restaurant in Boston claims that no matter Champagne brand people taste first, it will imprint on them so strongly that it will instantly become their brand of choice from then on. I almost believed him.
The first fine Champagne I ever had was Veuve Clicquot. It was delicious. Fresh, tasty, & always consistent. Remembering Bertil’s words,...
3 tags
What's Next For Me
After another fun Wine Riot this past weekend, I’m looking forward to lots of new things in my life. In addition to continuing my Champagne Campaign to drink sparkling wine every day for a year, I have lots of other new exciting things going on too, such as:
I’m starting a new contract website development job & am booked through the end of the year. In addition, I’m excited...
8 tags
How To Navigate Boston's Wine Riot
Apparently there’s been some controversy surrounding the upcoming Wine Riot Oct. 22 & 23 in Boston. I don’t know why - there’s no other wine event quite like it. This is not your father’s wine tasting!
As a Wine Riot regular (I’ve never missed one) I have a few suggestions on how to have a great time:
Learn to spit. I know this runs counter to the idea of...
14 tags
Champagne Campaign, Days 78-94: Various
This post has been a long time coming. I am hopelessly behind in writing about every single sparkling wine I have tried during this journey so far. And frankly, I have realized not every one has been worthy of its own starring role. Consider this roundup my attempt to catch up & redouble my efforts on future bottles that do deserve further attention.
Days 78 & 79: Moutard Diligent Brut...
3 tags
Champagne Campaign, Day 77: Gosset Grande Réserve
What happens when good wine goes bad? It is really quite sad.
My lovely companion Kim surprised me recently by bringing me a bottle of Gosset Grande Réserve Brut. I properly chilled it & we were so excited to open it. Dinner was ready & the Reidel glassware anxiously awaited its soon-to-be frothing contents. Unfortunately, they never came.
As I slowly twisted the cork, I realized quickly...