Blog Archive
Wine and Wheels on Valentine's Day
February 15, 2010
Reprint of a Q&A with Mark about lovable wines for Valentine's Day and his beloved "El...
Report from the 2009 Aspen Food & Wine Classic
July 5, 2009
The Aspen Food & Wine Classic last week was once again one of the most promiscuously flavorful...
Pride of Paso
May 1, 2009
“Cut! It’s pronounced ‘Pah-Soe...
Moonshining Through Thanksgiving
December 1, 2008
In New Orleans for Thanksgiving, I made sure to drink American. No, not Zinfandel, the uniquely...
The Biggie Show: Aspen '08
June 17, 2008
Once again, the Aspen FOOD & WINE Classic proved itself a gastronomic Shangri-La -- a confluence of...
Flying with Wine: Building the Perfect Booze Bag
January 6, 2008
Like Linus with his safety blanket, I always seem have a bottle of wine in tow. This can be...
Gruaud-Larose: Bordeaux Splendor, Accidentially Acquired
December 26, 2007
How an accidential auction acquisition illuminated one of the best values in fine...
Chinon and the Chevelle: French Wine, American Thunder
November 25, 2007
Pairing Loire wine with the wheels of Dirty...
Salon: The Secret "Cult Champagne"
October 14, 2007
When wine lovers rhapsodize about “cult wine,” they are typically talking about...
A Splendid Spin in Aspen
June 24, 2007
Report from the 25th annual FOOD & WINE...
Devastate Your Friends on New Year’s Eve: The Kit
June 10, 2007
To coincide with my seminars at the 25th anniversary of the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen this...
Scolded by the Secret Service (or Why Haut-Brion is Not Opium)
April 27, 2007
Don’t EVER say that in this situation!” sneered the Secret Service agent, his neck...
Buzz Management
March 23, 2007
"Don’t you get drunk?"...
Have Coinstar, Will Truffle
January 7, 2007
Setting out for the Coinstar machine at the Food Emporium in New York’s Union Square, I had...
Fail-Safe Ebullience for the Holidays
December 22, 2006
With Christmas well-nigh and New Year’s celebrations arriving soon thereafter, I am constantly...
Sip Vicious
December 17, 2006
Where Cortisone Fails, (Romanée) Conti Conquers
December 10, 2006
Dagger-like nerve-shocks pierced my ankle as the jet touched down at SFO, the pain from these...
The Parisian Speedo Police
October 1, 2006
Before I get to this entry’s featured wine, I ask you to indulge a digression into an indignity...
Hugging, Chugging, and Banging It Out at the Emmys
August 30, 2006
This Father's Day, Wine for the Lion-Hearted
May 11, 2006
These kingly wines are perfect for the paterfamilias in your...
Veiling the Veuve as Newark Begins Anew
May 10, 2006
Why was this wine writer crouching in the bushes of Newark, New Jersey, feverishly attempting to...
7 Well-Known Napa Wineries Worth Visiting (and Nary a Greyhound in Sight)
March 12, 2006
Anyone can roll up to the Napa Valley in a tour bus, stop at one of the wine factories along...
Mark's Magnus Morsels: New York's Best Nibbles (Downtown Edition)
February 18, 2006
Man cannot subsist on wine alone. We also need special savory treats, foods with an uncommon depth...
Nine Ways to Seduce With Wine This Valentine’s Day
January 31, 2006
If you aim to make pulses race this Valentine’s Day, head straight for one of these...
Winter Rescue via Tormaresca Primitivo
December 17, 2005
I’m lying near the Khumbu Icefall on the Nepalese side of the Himalayas, my climbing gear crusted...
"Waiter, Chill My Red": A Lesson from Beaujolais Nouveau
November 25, 2005
While dining out a few nights ago, I ordered a bottle of the 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau, the feel-good...
When is a Great Wine "Licked"
November 6, 2005
Like the Tootsie Pop owl who is asked how many licks it takes to get to the center of the pop, I am...
Spooky Sips: Wines for Halloween
October 23, 2005
(Un)Risky Business: Rebecca De Mornay and Rancho Zabaco Zin
October 22, 2005
While draining a glass of Rancho Zabaco "Sonoma Heritage Vines" Zinfandel at a friend's barbeque, I...
Toro! Toro! Termes: Aching to be Unleashed at the Thanksgiving Table
October 16, 2005
A brunchtime visit to Manhattan’s cathedral of fromage, Artisianal, introduced me to a rich,...
My Oriental Orangina: A Starter Saké of Immense Coolness
October 2, 2005
Bulbous, blingy, and briskly refreshing, Kamotsura Gold saké is a splendid introduction to saké...
DRC Grands Echézeaux '78: Parting the Feathers (Part II of DRC tasting)
September 25, 2005
One of the wines at the aforementioned DRC tasting inspired the elaboration below. ...
Learning One's DRC's (Part I of DRC tasting)
September 24, 2005
On a recent visit to Silicon Valley, I had the good fortune to attend a tasting of various vintages...
Value Viognier
September 17, 2005
As novelist Jay McInerney put it in my book, Viognier "has a tropical garden nose that puts you in...
Visiting Sonoma's Siduri
August 9, 2005
On a recent trip to Sonoma, California, I had the chance to stop by Siduri Vineyards. ...
