On Wine Criticism, Intentionality, Terroir, and Aboutness
When I judge a wine critically, I ask myself the usual questions about its color, aromas, flavors, textures, finish. But I also probe…
Essays
Writing About Wine
Wine is visceral, sensual, sensorial. When you begin a story about wine, you must switch on your reader.
Wine Labels, Wine Ingredients
Should a wine label display the ingredients used in winemaking? A seasoned wine writer and marketer—and avid wine consumer—considers the issues.
Happy Birthday, Julia Child
Julia Child would have been 100 years old today. She hasn’t been gone long; she died only in 2004, two days before her 92nd…
Without Reservation
I met my mother for lunch recently at a restaurant in town. We don’t eat there often, maybe once or twice a year. It…
Brachetto, Birthday
My birthday’s on the winter solstice, and it fell on a Wednesday this year. It was a normal, if very dark, work day. I didn’t…
Tea and Wine
In the day it’s black tea, in the evening red wine. It’s always something because this isn’t quite right, isn’t enough, or quite what…
Twenty-four Theses
We taste with four of our five senses: sight, smell, taste, and touch. (We don’t use our ears to taste, but you may have…