Wine is always better shared. These stories gather around the dinner table — where the right bottle meets the right food, the right friends, and the kind of conversation that lingers long after the last pour.
There are evenings that feel composed rather than simply lived—like a song that knows exactly where it’s going, yet lingers just long enough on every note. Tonight is one of those evenings. Lisa and I sit across from one another, a bottle of 2017 Dancing Heart from Cliff Lede Vineyards open between us, and already…
There are wines you admire. There are wines you collect. And then there are wines you celebrate life with. For Lisa’s birthday the last couple of years, we’ve slipped into a booth at Dallas’ Il Bracco, ordered something beautifully simple—often steak, sometimes pasta—and asked for a bottle of Tignanello. It has become our tradition. And…
There are wines you analyze—and wines you enter. Châteauneuf-du-Pape has always belonged to the second category for me. Not because it demands reverence, but because it invites memory. The story begins in the early 14th century, when the papacy relocated from Rome to Avignon. Pope John XXII looked across the Rhône Valley and saw a…
Our epicurean ensemble, spirits high and palates primed, we bade farewell to the romantic realms of Valpolicella, a veritable garden where Bacchus himself would have reveled in ruby red rapture. Our compass pivoted east, and the lure of Piedmont’s liquid treasures steered us through the undulating embrace of Northern Italy’s winelands. Descending from the autostrade…
Nestled upon the idyllic hills above the ancient city of Verona, with the first light of dawn playing upon the verdant vineyards, the Agriturismo San Mattia offered more than rest; it promised a day of vinous exploration and serendipitous encounters. It was here, after a decade, that we found ourselves returning to the heart of…
Winter hasn’t quite loosed his steely grip on the Chesapeake Bay area. Although this evening ended in a brilliant sunset with clear skies levelling golden rays through the still leafless trees in our back forest, it began with a cold, damp drizzle. But that was okay because Lisa pulled out some leftover cassoulet from the…
What is the most important ingredient in a bottle of wine? We could spend an entire evening debating the answer to that question. Of course the grapes account for much of that equation – varietal, viticulture, vinification – as does terroir, vintage effects (weather, etc.), fermentation choices, aging, etc. But I’m thinking of a much…
Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of being part of my nephew Jacob’s wedding. Always a time for celebration and happiness, weddings remind us that blending the fortunes, backgrounds, personalities, cultures, and families of two individuals frequently results in something more complex, interesting, and beautiful than could have been predicted by just imagining a…
Blogger’s Note: I want to preface this post with the old adage, ‘All things in moderation.’ You might get the impression when reading this particular post that I spend all my days drinking wine. Not true. In fact, I probably don’t get the medical benefit that derives from one or two glasses of red wine…
Some bottles sit down at my table and offer up a serendipitous story of stumbled upon food and fun. For example, last night Lisa and I stopped by one of our favorite little spots on Dallas’ lower Greenville Avenue, The Grape. I picked a Helen Turley (a California winemaker whose name on a bottle nearly…