Archive for June, 2008

Lucky me. I’m just back from a trip to Germany’s Pfalz region, researching a feature scheduled for the November issue. I don’t want to give away the story, but it got me thinking that whenever I visit a wine region, I look to experience more than just the area’s vinous delights by trying whatever local food specialties I can find. It helps me gain a more complete understanding of the region, and how that region’s wines fit within their local context. To me, it’s also just a natural part of exploring anyplace new.
This trip, asparagus and strawberries were in season.

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A warning and a pet peeve to those who enjoy premium beers. The warning is: Beware of elitism and intolerance. The peeve: Stop rolling your eyes whenever I order a Bud, Heineken or any other beer far beneath consideration in this age of the craft brew.

I am a citizen (or a blemish, depending on your p.o.v.) of the wine world. We’re accustomed to this attitude. There is a species of wine devotee who will not drink anything but the most complex and full-bodied red wines from the finest producers from the finest wine regions in the world. Some will make a big deal of this preference and make you feel like a worm for enjoying anything less, but it’s not always a matter of snobbery—others are quiet and cool about it. Their feeling is, I only drink wine on certain occasions; why drink anything other than the best? The best being defined as: complex, with assertive tannins, well-rendered oak and balancing acidity allowing vivid fruit to star; a wine that evolves in the glass, so that each sip is an adventure, an experience to be savored.

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