PALATE SAVVY

Occitanie, the administrative region in France that covers a good portion of the country’s southwest, from the right bank of the Rhône River to the east, to the eastern edge of Aquitaine to the west, contains several wine-producing zones that remain relatively unknown.  It’s hard to put a finger on

Roussillon is one of those places in which one realizes that France is not just France.  That is, that France, one of the oldest coherent nation states in Europe – or possibly, in the world, in fact, contains several different cultures within it.   Within modern memory, say the past century,

Whatever one thinks of the ascent of Michel Aoun to the presidency of the Lebanese Republic and the return of Saad Hariri as prime minister (see post below), one must say that in the realm of wine, the Lebanese have come together as never before.   The challenges they have faced

On the eve of the US presidential elections, we might well envy the state of affairs that existed in Lebanon – being free of an open campaign for president for over two and a half years.  Granted, there was a downside to all this, namely, Lebanon was without a president

Wine & Spirits Magazine recently published a piece I wrote on Lebanese wine: “Cinsault Rising: Lebanon’s Search for a Flagship Red.”  I am grateful for the opportunity to write about the wines of Lebanon, something I have paid close attention to for a long while.  In 2001, as I wrote

Earlier this week, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Michel de Bustros, the founder of Lebanon’s Château Kefraya.  With the loss of Château Musar’s Serge Hochar at the end of 2014, Mr. de Bustros is the second iconic person Lebanon’s wine industry has lost in as many

It’s August. Depending on one’s position in the wine world, people are either taking vacation, touring wineries, furiously trying to bottle whatever is in tank to clear up space for the vintage soon to come, preparing for harvest, or, in the case of so many young sommeliers: making plans to

Appearing in Gilbert & Gaillard International, Summer 2013 The Finger Lakes can be counted among the greatest wine regions in the world. Or has the potential to be. It’s a bold statement and one that, for the next few years, needs a few qualifications. But, with a distinct geology, geography

During the past month, wine shops and restaurants throughout the city have been plastered by colorful posters announcing the Sud de Franc festival, part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region’s campaign to promote its wines and products. During the festival, I have taught two classes at the Maison de La Région Languedoc-Roussillon

Appearing in Wine & Spirits Magazine, September 2012 Perhaps it was Providence. After graduating from the Viticultural Research Institute at Neustadt in Germany, Hermann J. Wiemerís first job was to make sacramental wines in upstate New York, from the most ignoble of grapes, vitis labrusca. The year was 1965. The