Writings

On the eve of the US presidential elections, we might well envy the state of affairs that existed in Lebanon – being free of an open campaign for president for over two and a half years.  Granted, there was a downside to all this, namely, Lebanon was without a president

Wine & Spirits Magazine recently published a piece I wrote on Lebanese wine: “Cinsault Rising: Lebanon’s Search for a Flagship Red.”  I am grateful for the opportunity to write about the wines of Lebanon, something I have paid close attention to for a long while.  In 2001, as I wrote

Earlier this week, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Michel de Bustros, the founder of Lebanon’s Château Kefraya.  With the loss of Château Musar’s Serge Hochar at the end of 2014, Mr. de Bustros is the second iconic person Lebanon’s wine industry has lost in as many

wolffer-patio

It occurs to me as I post the article on Long Island wine that I wrote last fall for Gilbert & Gaillard International now, that Long Island wine launched my career as a wine writer. In 1999, I was working at the New York Times website www.nytoday.com (now defunct) and

Central Valley Harvest

It’s August. Depending on one’s position in the wine world, people are either taking vacation, touring wineries, furiously trying to bottle whatever is in tank to clear up space for the vintage soon to come, preparing for harvest, or, in the case of so many young sommeliers: making plans to

Finger Lakes

Appearing in Gilbert & Gaillard International, Summer 2013 The Finger Lakes can be counted among the greatest wine regions in the world. Or has the potential to be. It’s a bold statement and one that, for the next few years, needs a few qualifications. But, with a distinct geology, geography

Champagne bottles

A review of Richard Juhlin’s rather large book, A Scent of Champagne Richard Juhlin’s Scent of Champagne immediately evokes a sense of luxury befitting his subject. Broad and heavy in format, printed on fine paper with high detailed photos, Juhlin’s tome is the sort of thing one might conspicuously display

Lecture 2015 with Jamal Rayyis

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