Articles
Ode to Bordeaux Vintage
2005 is wine with jive, elegant and fine, this vintage will thrive 2004 got decent scores, it’s classic old-style, not yet ready to pour. 2003 saw heat extremes, with ripeness and pricing both quite obscene. 2002 is classic and true, though right bank suffered as weather was cool. 2001 should not be shunned, fresh, pure [...]
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Sweet Like Chocolate
What is Easter without chocolate? If the Easter Bunny has left you with an overwhelming cache of chocolate, why not host a wine and chocolate party? Besides, both are good for the heart. A pas de deux of chocolate and wine, two of the world’s favorite delicacies is not an easy dance, but when performed [...]
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France’s Forgotten Grape
Malbec is no one-man band. Over the centuries it has played back up to some of the world’s finest wines – adding a damson note to classic Bordeaux, structural metre in the Loire and gamey accents in south western France. As malbec was once widely grown throughout France, it has hundreds of synonyms such as [...]
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Twin Spin: Napa & Hong Kong
Call me crazy, but I think Hong Kong is a lot like Napa Valley. Napa Valley is world famous — so is Hong Kong. Napa Valley is only 35 miles long, which is about the length of Hong Kong Island. Napa Valley features two mountain ranges, the Mayacamas on one side and the Vacas on [...]
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Green Wine
Green beer isn’t the only way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Mead is an ancient drink pre-dating Irish beer. Medieval use of beeswax candles far outstripped honey consumption—so monks blended excess honey with water and fermented it into an alcoholic beverage. Mead was especially popular in Ireland, where grapes were difficult to cultivate. The Irish [...]
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More than a drop of Irish blood
Inspired by and dedicated to Peter Mullin Not fond of Guinness? Does the thought of green beer turn you, well, green? With St. Paddy’s Day coming up, why not celebrate by pulling the cork on a bottle of Bordeaux? Bordeaux may be viewed as quintessentially French, but there’s a bit o’the Irish in Bordeaux: fourteen [...]
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