Say No to Wine Monopolies – Say No to the Cork Tax

As I get my bag ready for another day on the road in snowy New Jersey, I had to take a few minutes to ask for your help in fighting off a dire… Continue reading →

Leave Some of the Mystery in the Glass

This morning I woke up to a fun article about vineyard microbial activity in the New York Times.  Yes, I just typed that.  In short, the article (link here) – proposes that there… Continue reading →

The Debate Should be Over the Nature of Wine

For months, maybe even years now, there has been a ferocious – and increasingly boring – debate regarding the tenets and virtues of natural wine.  And it shouldn’t come as a surprise to… Continue reading →

Are We Just Talking to Each Other?

Over the past few months I have been immersing myself in wine books. The main motivation for my crash course on the social and economic history of wine has been threefold.  First of… Continue reading →

The Evolution of a Wine Critic – James Laube and Mayacamas Vineyards

While visiting a local bookstore that sells mainly used books (yes, they exist), my mother phoned me to see if she should pick up a few older wine books for me.  My usual… Continue reading →

Missing the Point with Costco

In case you haven’t noticed it spreading like wildfire on your favorite wine blogs, last week bloggers (myself included) tweeted and posted that the wine buyer for Costco, Annette Alvarez-Peters, asserted in an… Continue reading →

I’m Certain That Not All Retailers Are Driven by Scores

Yesterday I was reading through the wine news that I have funneled into my inbox and came across a story by Steve Heimofff regarding the influence that wine ratings hold over the consumer. … Continue reading →

Stand Up to The Importers Behind “At Rest” Legislation in New York

For those of you who do not know, I work for a wine importer that distributes wine to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  I don’t often mention my work nor write about… Continue reading →

What Some Will Never Understand About Expressive Wine

Though technically true, wine has never been nor will ever be as simple as grapes + yeast = alcohol and carbon dioxide.  All finished wines are manipulated at some level.  One can go… Continue reading →

Why Proposed Privatization Effort In Pennsylvania is a Sham

In the summer of 2010, I appeared on the Fox Business Network to engage PJ Stapleton, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board in a debate over the installation of wine kiosks in… Continue reading →