So many intriguing, influential characters over the centuries have populated the wine world that it would be impossible to tell their stories in one fell swoop. But one segment that is often overlooked in the history of wine is the women of centuries past and their contributions to the category. These trailblazers defied the odds and built powerful brands despite the obstacles and male-dominated times in which they lived. There’s no two ways about it, these sisters made a mark in a male-dominated business and did it with finesse and vision.

When I first started learning about wine while living in Sonoma, I was surprised at how often the stories of plucky and innovative daughters, wives and sisters popped up in relation to the founding and early days of iconic California wineries. Simi’s story was especially powerful: Founded in 1876 by two Italian brothers, Giuseppe and Pietro Simi, the winery was taken over by Giuseppe Simi’s daughter, Isabelle, in 1904, and she continued to helm the brand throughout Prohibition, ensuring its survival. The pioneering continued in 1973, when Maryann Graf, the first woman to graduate from an American university with a degree in oenology, joined the winery. And Zelma Long, one of California’s most important winemakers, added to Simi girl power in 1979. All of these women, especially Isabel were anomalies in their own time.

Across the pond a century before in 1805, 27-year-old Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot gained control of late husband François Clicquot’s banking, wool trading, and Champagne production in a time when female business owners were essentially non-existent. Using funds from her father-in-law, “Veuve (widow) Clicquot” focused the company completely on Champagne production, developed an early Champagne technique called riddling and impacting the future of all Champagne styles and production. She also helped catapult the brand to success and it’s still one of the most important names in the wine world to date.

These are just a few of the stories that solidify women’s roles in the wine world—they were integral in paving the way for a new era in which women are prominent at all levels of wine business. Female sommeliers, wine directors, winemakers, buyers, owners—even wine editors like me—owe it to these great ladies for their bravery, skill and strength. Today, the trend continues, with stars like Helen Turley, Jancis Robinson, Karen McNeil and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild carrying the noble torch.

The next time you pop the cork on a great sip, don’t forget the women behind the wine. And let me know who I’ve missed!

Every year, I review Israeli wines for the April issue of our magazine. I do this because the majority of wines from Israel are Kosher, and a lot of Kosher wine is purchased and consumed in the month of April for the Jewish holiday Passover (September is also a busy season for the category with the High Holy Days including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). Every year, I have noticed an improvement over the previous vintage, and marvel at the fact that some fabulous winemakers are creating beautiful stuff that too many people are unfamiliar with.

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Thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d present a “point, click, drool & buy” guide to chocolate. To that end, I contacted my former colleague and co-writer on chocolate and pastry books, Tish Boyle. She is still very much immersed in that world. Her blog offers recipes, kitchen tips and news for all things chocolate and pastry, gooey and crunchy, sweet and salty.

[I miss the chocolate world, especially the way the women dressed for work, as seen in the photos below.]

[That is a big fat lie. These are chocolate fashions, as displayed at the Chocolate Show, which exhibits at several cities over the year. Yep: clothes made of chocolate. Tasteful comments are welcome.]

Tish was happy to share some of the quality chocolatiers she’s discovered relatively recently.

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Like art, music and literature, the cocktails and favored beverages of an era are often intrinsically linked to the history and culture of the time. Delve into the origins of your favorite cocktails and you’ll find a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of a bygone era. The creation of mixed drinks in particular is routinely linked to events in history.

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While New Year’s resolutions frequently involve promises of eating less, giving back more or finally kicking that terrible habit, if you’re not ditching booze altogether it might be the best time to take a look at your beverage routines and question whether they are in need of a shake-up of their own. If you think about your purchasing, education and consumption rituals and realize that you have not bought anything different, learned anything new or shared anything spectacular with friends or family, then you might in fact be stuck in a drink rut. Lucky for you, I’m here to help; adopting these 5 simple and fantastic resolutions is certain to spice up your consumption lifestyle, liberating you from monotony and reminding you about all of the possibilities and pleasures you once yearned to find in the world of fine wine and craft beer. Here’s to a happy, healthy and fun new year!

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If you dine out with any regularity, it’s likely you have an opinion on how restaurant service should be. Whether you feel service is of prime importance or not, we all have our gripes. Recently, I had a particularly poor experience at a 2-Michelin-Star restaurant in NY. Since posting my recap this morning, I’ve been amazed at the number of people corralling to support me. And it makes sense! When you pay top dollar for a meal, people should treat you nicely. Oddly enough, I think too many people take service etiquette for granted. Not wanting to be curmudgeonly they keep opinions to themselves, making these rules unspoken.

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I have protein on the brain. A recent visit to a great New York steakhouse and some remarks by a superstar chef have me thinking in loop-de-loops about steak house, Americans’ addiction to meat and—gak!—global warming.

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I can’t think of a better wine for Christmas than sparkling Shiraz. It’s festive, pairs well with many holiday favorites and the color really dresses up the holiday table. 

I have to admit that it took me a few years to warm up to sparkling Shiraz (or any sparkling red wines, for that matter). I’ve had examples that made my teeth hurt from excessive sugar and others where the sparkling wine’s yeasty character seemed to fight with the fruit and tannins of the red wine base.

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Last night, I had the great pleasure of going out with a group of friends to celebrate the holidays. It was nothing ridiculous, just a group of nine guys and gals meeting for dinner at a local restaurant, each armed with a bottle of wine and rapier wit. It’s a tradition for this somewhat random group of friends to meet every year in December, and as we gathered in the private room we so appropriately (and thankfully for the other patrons of the restaurant) occupied, I couldn’t help but smile at the understanding that this is what it’s all about.

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As a wine lover, there are certain region/varietal combinations that I hang my hat on. Dry Creek Valley is good for Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is good for Pinot, Malbec in Argentina, Chardonnay in Burgundy, the list goes on. It serves as a blueprint for making wine selections. But sometimes I can get so bogged down by these preconceptions that I fail to see the larger picture. It has led me to be unfairly judgmental at times, something that I’m not proud of. These are the moments when wine lovers can get that bed reputation. It’s the moment when wine “lover” turns to wine “snob” because these concepts turn from points of guidance to points of judgment. So I love when some of my deep-rooted dogmas are challenged.

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