[EDITOR”S NOTE: Sadly Becky Wasserman-Hone passed away in August 2021. Her legacy as an affable and intelligent Bourgogne champion abides.] It’s fashionable to stereotype Burgundy wines as overly complicated and too expensive. Becky Wasserman-Hone simply doesn’t buy it. She has heard it all before over her forty year career as an expatriate-American working as an […]
Becky Wasserman-Hone: The Gentle Maven of Burgundy Read More »
When you love drinking red burgundies, giving up is just not option. Abiding passion must be served. Yet over the last decade as prices on even village wines have escalated to $60 or more per bottle, popular producers’ wines have sadly slipped out of reach in recent vintages. When you’re feeling the disappointment, just remember
Dave’s Wine Tips: Shrewd Buying Delivers Burgundies With Quality and Value. Read More »
It certainly comes as no secret that steadily growing global demand for red Burgundies over the last two decades has narrowed the possibilities for discovering “good values.” Wines from top producers command hundreds of dollars per bottle. So it’s reassuring to taste a wine like Nicolas Rossignol’s marvelous 2015 Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée L’Héritière and realize that
Wine of the Weekend: Nicolas Rossignol’s 2015 Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée L’Héritière Read More »
An anonymous brick warehouse somewhere on the outer reaches of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York might seem an unlikely place to discover distinctive Alsace Pinot Noir wines. But when Isabelle Legeron, M.W.’s “2017 RAW WINE” Fair took place in the warehouse, talented Alsace grower Christian Binner’s reds provided a highlight as one hundred fifty producers
Winegrower Christian Binner and the Pleasures of Alsace Pinot Noir Read More »
Drinking and enjoying the 2016 Domaine Paul Durdilly et Fils, Beaujolais “Les Grandes Coasses” this weekend—the delicious wine has juicy, pure red fruit, fine freshness and just a hint of ripe tannins in an otherwise soft, fruity finish. It shows that fine 2016 Beaujolais reds are available despite the incredibly difficult challenges that Mother Nature
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The holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to consider notable 2017 wine books as gifts—both for others and for yourself. Several fine choices stand out.
Notable Wine Books Make Terrific Gifts and Good Reading Read More »
Each year with France’s Northern Rhône red wines, critics and consumers alike heap accolades on the marvelous selections from Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage. Reds from the nearby appellation of Crozes-Hermitage which also rely on Syrah grapes go largely unheralded. So the wines often languish on retail shelves even with prices a third or less of their
Distinctive Crozes-Hermitage Reds With Quality, Personality and Value Read More »
With bumper crops of fully ripened tomatoes piled on kitchens counters, the annual quest for imaginative and delicious recipes begins anew. In “The Raw and The Cooked: Adventures of A Roving Gourmand” (Grove Press, 2001), the late poet, novelist and food-and-wine writer Jim Harrison (pictured above, 1937-2016) provides an innovative solution with a twist on
Among Burgundy’s many delicious wines, those from Chambolle-Musigny frequently offer the most alluring and enchanting delights especially in outstanding vintages. The best examples balance delicate, complex red fruit aromas and ripe, transparent flavors with uplifting freshness and silky, elegant tannins. Drinking and enjoying four terrific Chambolle wines at a recent lunch proved the point convincingly.
Cellar Tasting: Chambolle-Musigny’s Alluring, Enchanting Delights Read More »
Eighteenth century French philosopher Voltaire suggested “Il faut cultiver notre jardin”—“We must cultivate our garden”—even in the face of life’s complications and chaos. Burgundy winegrower Jean-Claude Rateau takes Voltaire’s advice to heart. Since graduating from Beaune’s Lycée Viticole in the late 1970’s, he has carefully cultivated his vineyards like a garden using organic and biodynamic