Cooking
- Wine Writing Cliches
John McIntyre, whose copyediting blog You Don’t Say is one of the few sites I read every day, has recently been covering cliches. First he discussed crime story cliches, then the seasonal cliches of the winter holidays. I thought that the wine...
- Tete De Cuvee Rose Tasting
As a wine writer, I get invited to a lot of tastings. As a person with a full-time job, I don’t go to all of them. I disregard some, hope to make some — and then can’t — and occasionally find myself at one. Then there are the tastings...
- Wine Spectator Is Arrogant
I know. It's a shock. But take a deep breath, and I'll explain. In the current issue, they've printed a letter from a reader who blames Wine Spectator for promoting monstrous wine lists, and he goes on to decry the trend. "I am not happy...
- Some Reasons To Try Barney's
Melissa and I went to Barney's last night. For those outside the Bay Area, Barney's is a local chain of gourmet hamburger restaurants. I find their burgers decent, especially now that I've learned to avoid the specialty burgers with their...
- Learning To Serve
When the Culinary Institute of America opened its Greystone campus, the school decided to offer a wine program in addition to the normal food classes. The campus is well positioned for a comprehensive program: it's in St. Helena in the Napa Valley,...
Cooking
Every Industry's Got 'Em
So I'm at the Wine Appreciation Guild's press tasting for the Wine Literary Award, and someone nearby opens a bottle of Champagne. Loudly. This is Bad Form, if you don't know. The wine writer to my right thinks he's being clever when he turns and says to me "it should never be louder than a contented woman's sigh." It's an old saying about opening sparklers, and I reply with my clever response, "Yeah, but clearly that person had never met my upstairs neighbor." He chuckles and says "Or my wife." Did I need to know this?
- Wine Writing Cliches
John McIntyre, whose copyediting blog You Don’t Say is one of the few sites I read every day, has recently been covering cliches. First he discussed crime story cliches, then the seasonal cliches of the winter holidays. I thought that the wine...
- Tete De Cuvee Rose Tasting
As a wine writer, I get invited to a lot of tastings. As a person with a full-time job, I don’t go to all of them. I disregard some, hope to make some — and then can’t — and occasionally find myself at one. Then there are the tastings...
- Wine Spectator Is Arrogant
I know. It's a shock. But take a deep breath, and I'll explain. In the current issue, they've printed a letter from a reader who blames Wine Spectator for promoting monstrous wine lists, and he goes on to decry the trend. "I am not happy...
- Some Reasons To Try Barney's
Melissa and I went to Barney's last night. For those outside the Bay Area, Barney's is a local chain of gourmet hamburger restaurants. I find their burgers decent, especially now that I've learned to avoid the specialty burgers with their...
- Learning To Serve
When the Culinary Institute of America opened its Greystone campus, the school decided to offer a wine program in addition to the normal food classes. The campus is well positioned for a comprehensive program: it's in St. Helena in the Napa Valley,...