Hello, my retailer friends. I’ve been thinking about you lately. Not the giant chains with endless case stacks and fluorescent lighting. Not the algorithm-driven “buy six and save” warehouse mentality. I’m talking about the independent retailers. The neighborhood shops. The places where somebody still cares what’s in the bottle and why it matters. You are…
I’ve spent a long time in this industry. I’ve taught thousands of students how to taste wine, how to talk about wine, how to appreciate wine. And somewhere along the way I became a minor expert in another, far less glamorous subject: the truly baffling patchwork of laws that govern how Americans can buy, sell,…
Photo: Moonrise, Auros, France. September 2024. In Part One, I covered some of my favorite physical pro tips for wine travel. In part two, we’re talking digital. There are so many great tools out there for today’s travelers. It’s fascinating to think back to my first days of European wine travel, without cell phones or…
My photo above is from Colmar, in Alsace, France. It’s about as European as a town can feel, with winding streets, wonderful buildings hundreds of years old, and a distinct culture and cuisine unlike anything else out there. It’s the kind of town that is easy to fall in love with, and easy to revisit….
On the last week of August 2024, we spent five glorious nights in New York City celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We barely scratched the surface of what’s possible to see in NYC, but here’s an outline of some highlights and wine opinions from the Big Apple. Our hotel We stayed at the Marriott Residence…
It’s that time of year again! The great Minnesota get together, 2024 edition. As always, I’ll be doing the final judging for the amateur wine competition. I’ll also be presenting live at the Minnesota Wine Country building on the first day of the Fair, at 3:30pm. It will be our “Magical Mutations” presentation that many…
I don’t usually criticize restaurants and wine bars for their low-quality or overpriced wine lists. I try to keep my vibes positive and only talk about the good and the great, not the overpriced or the lazy. And I don’t usually call out restaurants for bad service. I’m the first to say, “I’m sure it’s…
I’m an avid reader of the “Curious Minnesota” column in the Star Tribune, thanks to articles such as why are Honeycrisp apples so expensive? Why does everyone love to hate Edina? And why do Minnesotans say ‘ope’ all the time? A few years ago there was an article titled “Why does the Stone Arch Bridge cross the river…
