13 Jan Let’s start 2020 by beginning to re-write the easy narratives that defined much of the 20th century. For most of this time, the whole of vinous Germany was reduced to one grape. A damn fine grape to be sure, but still. The... View Post
27 Dec Much ink has already been spilled regarding how the tariffs came about, why there are new proposals on the table to up the tariffs from 25% to 100% while also broadening the scope of products they effect, how nonsensical they... View Post
04 Dec The direct translation of “Pur” is the following: “pure, neat, sheer.” None of these definitions seem even remotely appropriate for most zero-sulfur wines; yet the brothers Brand, Daniel and Jonas, created a small, yet brilliant and ethereal collection in 2018. The cool-climates did... View Post
Yes, it’s tragically cliched to offer Riesling and/or magnums for the Thanksgiving table, the narrative at this point being so tired it’s less like kicking a dead horse, and more like kicking at the spot where the horse died a decade earlier. Still,... View Post
13 Sep The German wine auctions, held once a year at the end of September (this year, Friday and Sunday, September 20 and 22), are little understood in the U.S. While the easy selling line is something like, “this is your chance... View Post
08 Aug David Byrne has described his 1984 tune Naive Melody as a love song full of non sequiturs. I’ve been thinking about writing something a bit more meaningful about Stein a long time, and listening to the Talking Heads last night, hearing this song,... View Post
24 Jun 2018 Lauer: the expanded collection! 2018 is the first vintage in a long, long, long time, where winemakers had basically the perfect fall. They could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Which means, the vintage is going to offer... View Post
08 May sea-spray pet-nat, “wild things,” cider and crazy-priced BIG BOTTLES new releases from the brothers Brand The brothers Brand have finished their whirlwind tour through Chicago and New York (the photo above, from LA, was a few years ago). Now it’s time to... View Post