François Chidaine: Vigneron à Montlouis et Vouvray

Weingut Keller: Rising Star in the Rheinhessen

Early Summer at Talula's Table

Urban Winemaking at Dashe Cellars
Ask any hundred people what they consider the heartland of California wine country and Napa will no doubt top the list, followed closely by Sonoma. Ask the same group – and this implies the participants have at least some basic familiarity with the subject matter – about California’s new frontier and I’d hazard a guess th

I Ate the Yankees
[The stage is set: a cloudy fall afternoon on the Lower East Side of Manhattan; it's Devil's Night Friday. In the background, faint strains of Brit Punk can be heard filtering through the street noise.]"What exactly is a Yankees doughnut," I asked."Glazed with

A Post-Halloween Sun Ra Triptych
I predict a few jumps in the blogland timeline over the next few days. For now, think of it as space travel à la the Sun Ra Arkestra, which continues to thrive on the universal energy of music in Mr. Ra’s memory. Under the leadership of longtime member Marshall Allen, the Sun Ra Arkestra kicked off Saturday night’s first performance of “Anti-Jazz: The New Thing Revisited,” a four-part series being cross-promoted by http://www.arsnovaworkshop.org/ Ars Nova Workshop and http://www.ihousephilly.org/ International House Philadelphia that continues through next spring. It’s hard to think of a show more appropriate for Halloween night. Funkadelic, perhaps… or Gwar might come close

Jo Pithon's 2005 Savennières "La Croix Picot"
Though I didn’t realize it at the time I purchased it, Jo Pithon’s 2005 Savennières represents a near end-point in the modern viticultural history of the Anjou. It’s the penultimate vintage ever to be bottled under Pithon’s own label and under his own autonomic control.In 2005, a 95% stake in Domaine Jo Pithon was purchased from its financially strapped owner by Philip Fournier, founder of the telecommunications concern, Afone, which is based in Angers. Subsequently, Monsieur Fournier also purchased the Château de Chamboreau from its previous owner, Pierre-Yves Soulez, in 1996. The two estates have now been combined to form an aggregate of 27 hectares of vineyards s

Five for Friday, Including Passing References to QPR and the Tyranny of the Tasting Note
For today, just a few notes and pics from a recent Friday get together. It had been too long, so I hope you’ll pardon my indulgences.Rioja Gran Reserva “Viña Tondonia” Rosado, R. Lopez de Heredia 1998$25.