The last few years I have celebrated New Year’s Eve with good friends and a fondue party. We start out with two different cheese fondues (usually one cheddar and the other Swiss or some sort of milder cheese) and then we end with a chocolate fondue for dessert. I pair an assortment of sparkling wines with the different courses and we eat and drink our way to the new year.

One of the things I love about this meal (besides the fact that who can resist a meal that consists mainly of bread, cheese and chocolate) is that it is so much fun to drink Champagne (and other sparkling wines) with more than …

Just wanted to post a quick note to say Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope that everyone is having fun spending time with loved ones and that if you are traveling this holiday season that you stay safe – and warm!

I’ll touch back with you all in a few days and we’ll discuss some ways to create a fantastic and memorable New Year’s Eve! Until then, eat, drink and be merry! Cheers!

I came across an interesting tip the other day from wine writer Bill Daley of the Chicago Tribune. He was offering some advice to his readers and one item made me laugh. He wrote, “If you’re in a bar or restaurant and like the wine, write the name down immediately; otherwise you’ll forget.”

I laugh not because I think this is a silly piece of advice – rather on the contrary, I think Bill has hit the nail on the head here. I can say this because, even though I am a wine expert, I have a TERRIBLE memory for specific wine names. I can remember grapes and regions, flavors and aromas, …

Since last week we spent some time discussing the wines of the Southwest, I thought that it might be helpful to add some information on the site about a few of the grape varieties that can be found there. The three I want to cover today are Tannat, Duras and Négrette.

Tannat

Tannat is a very interesting grape. As the name implies, it is a grape with significant tannins. It is also a grape that has deeply colored skins, so the resulting wines tend to be intensely colored as well. Tannat wines tend to be fairly high in alcohol with crisp acidity and putting those components together with its …

Last night I conducted a wine dinner for a group in Boston at Gordon’s, a terrific wine store with a great food and wine demonstration room. I was paired up with a chef from Petit Robert Bistro, a local French restaurant run by Chef Jacky Robert. The theme of the evening was wines from Southwest France, a diverse collection of appellations located in the south western corner of France (everything but Bordeaux and Cognac).

The evening was fascinating. Chef Robert had chosen to pair the wines with French dishes, but not necessarily with recipes from the Southwest, which has a rich (literally) food tradition (think cassoulet, foie gras, duck dishes). …