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May 2006
Still Waiting For 2005 Bordeaux Futures
Posted: 04:13 AM ET, May 31, 2006
Is anyone else getting a little fed up? I can’t understand why most of the big-name Bordeaux châteaus have not released their prices for 2005 futures, or en primeur. It seems that the proverbial iron is getting cold as the Bordelais try to figure out what prices they should sell their new wines for. Read more
Nero d'Avola and Sicily
Posted: 12:57 PM ET, May 29, 2006
I haven’t really seen all that many great red wines from Sicily. Sure I have given plenty of 90- and 91-point scores to wines from the island in recent years, but I am still waiting to score some wines in the mid to high 90s – real classic quality. Read more
Great Food at the End of the Earth -- Sicily
Posted: 03:08 PM ET, May 26, 2006
CATANIA, ITALY: I had a fantastic dinner last night in a restaurant that felt like it was at the end of the earth. It was literally out in the middle of nowhere in Sicily, about two hours south of Catania in a town called Ragusa Ibla, a beautiful ancient city with an almost Spanish colonial feel to it. Read more
Ask the Editors
Posted: 12:26 PM ET, May 22, 2006
You asked for it, you got it! When our editor and publisher, Marvin R. Shanken, solicited member feedback on the blogs, the most frequent request was for interaction with us, the editors. We do encourage comments and questions every day on our blog posts, and we try to respond to them as often as we can during the workweek. Read more
Confronting the Beast While Tasting
Posted: 07:49 AM ET, May 22, 2006
I was sitting in my office this morning tasting 2003 Tuscan reds, and my West Highland Terrier, Archie, started barking outside the door into the backyard. He looked terrified. In fact, he jumped through his dog door like he had seen a ghost.
I looked out the window, and a female wild boar the size of a New York hot dog stand was walking outside the door. Read more
The Glass that Changed Our World
Posted: 03:32 AM ET, May 18, 2006
KUFSTEIN, AUSTRIA: The Riedel family celebrated its 250th anniversary of glassmaking last night at its factory here, joined by close to 700 other people from 30 different countries. It was a night of celebration and speeches, not to mention good food and wine. Read more
Sails, Steaks and Syrah
Posted: 12:01 PM ET, May 15, 2006
PORTOFINO: Spent the weekend here watching the Zegna Regatta, a sailboat race for mostly Swan, Wally and Transpac boats. The race, sponsored by the fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna, is now in its 25th year and has become one of the cool spring events in Europe, with plenty of weekend parties in this small northern Italian village on the Ligurian coast. Read more
Money, Money, Money
Posted: 03:46 AM ET, May 13, 2006
FLORENCE -- Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, the Tuscan wine giant, announced yesterday that it has spun off some of its top wine estates into a new company, Tenute di Toscana, and then sold a small part of it to foreign investors, including Russian vodka producer SPI Group (whose brands include Stolichnaya) and former Napa Valley vintner Michael Mondavi, who now runs an import company. Read more
Back in Bella (and Cold) Italia
Posted: 01:58 PM ET, May 11, 2006
ROME – Arrived in Fumicino Airport this morning at about 8:30 a.m., following an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles via New York. After trying to start my car (I left the lights on over a week ago when I left!), I finally worked it out and left down the highway for home. Read more
Bling Bling on the Plate and in the Glass
Posted: 04:15 PM ET, May 10, 2006
LOS ANGELES -- I had dinner in a hipster-sushi-bar-style (i.e. Joel Robuchon L’Atelier in Paris and in Vegas), European-Japanese-fusion restaurant in West L.A., and I was blown away. Maybe I was influenced by the incredible bottle of 1999 Marcassin Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Marcassin Vineyard, but this was a no-BS-no-flash place that is off the radar screen -- especially for a large number of people in La La who only care about the buzz of a place and not the food on the plate. Read more
It’s Only a Phrase
Posted: 02:02 PM ET, May 08, 2006
LAS VEGAS: Got into a cool debate with my fellow editors during a meeting in Sin City today about the phrase “international style.” I have always thought that this phrase was rather negative. It meant a wine with dark color, fruit forward, lots of perfumes, high in alcohol, big juicy tannins and a long fruity finish. Read more
Pétrus and Burgers?
Posted: 02:55 PM ET, May 07, 2006
I read this comment today from Brett Allen about a couple that drank a bottle of 1982 Petrus with Wendy’s burgers:
"Hey gang - here's one for you! This past Saturday, a guest called and asked if he could have a table to 'just drink very good wine. Read more
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