Category: Wine & Spirits

What’s better than enjoy good wines with good friends? There are numerous occasions to enjoy wine when you’re not eating a full meal. Whether enjoying a relaxing afternoon with friends, having an after work party with colleagues or a late night snack with music, the proper combination snacks and wines will embellish any social gathering. […]

I love Barbera wines, not because they are the most beautiful, famous or prized wines in the world, but because the better examples have a unique and charming personality.

Bordeaux has bequeathed wine lovers many liquid treasures over the past two millennium. Some continue to please our palates while others have been transplanted to distant countries and found happy new homes. One such story involves the Carmenere grape. Until the mid to late 19th century Carmenere was one of the six noble red wine […]

One of the beauties of traditional wine is that although it is made with only grapes it can offer thousands of different aromas and flavors. Where and how the wine is made, the weather, the wine-maker and many other factors will influence what aromas and flavors reside in your glass. Different grapes also have their […]

All romantics that truly love to eat must have a special place in their hearts for chocolate. And I mean real chocolates that contain an abundance of phenylethylamine, the same chemical that is released in the brain when people fall in love, and serotonin, a feel-good stimulant that produces a feeling oftern referred to as […]

At events and in the media, I am often fond of saying that many wine professionals tend to take themselves and the subject of wines too seriously. Instead of making wine appreciate fun and easy they build up a culture of snobbery and exclusivity. This can really be a turn off to consumers especially in […]

Enjoying a top northern Rhone red wine is one of the wine world’s most profound experiences, unfortunately it is also one of the most expensive. In this week’s column I’ll introduce less costly ways to experience the intriguing red and dark fruit, herbal, spice and meaty qualities of northern red wines. Surrounding the prized hilltop […]

Making New Year’s resolutions is an ancient practice thought to have started with the Romans. Some believe the practice began in 153 BC when the mythical Roman King Janis was placed at the head of the Roman calendar. Janis was a two-faced king who could see the past and also look into the future thus […]

The sweet memory of Christmas is only one day old but it’s already time to start thinking of New Year’s Eve and this means bubbles. Of all the wines in the world Champagne is the most associated with celebration and therefore the perfect way to greet the New Year with fun and optimism. After all […]

Winter has once again hit Shanghai with a vengeance. What better way to warm you body and soul than with a good wine. The wines we enjoy should not only entice the palate but also pair well with the heavier dishes of winter. Ideally, the wine should be full-bodied with plenty of dark fruit and […]