Joan of Arc, Phillip the Good and The Hospices de Beaune
Our story begins in 1405 as the Black Plague, the Hundred Years War and roving bands of mercenaries were all working together to make...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
The Northern Rhone: Birthplace of Syrah
There is something about this area that is almost supernatural and the hill of Hermitage was a bit of a wine pilgrimage for me. The...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
Beaujolais: The Unsung Hero of French Wine
There is more quality wine being produced in the world right now than any time in history. There were very dark days in the last...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
Chalonnaise and Maconnaise: An Evening with the Country Cousins
Traveling south down the A31 from Beaune, we leave the Golden Slopes of Burgundy and instead see a jumble of limestone slopes on which ...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 4 min
Rome: Sweet Wines, Stinking Fish and a Freed Slave
Tonight, we thought it would be fun to pretend that we are in Rome two thousand years ago. We wanted to see if we could replicate the ...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 4 min
Italian Wine Laws: DOCG, Anarchy and the IGT
As a sommelier for more than twenty years, it pains me to admit that I am still baffled by Italy. It is not just the 2,000 indigenous...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 4 min
Southern Italy: Amalfi Coast, Mt Vesuvius and Pliny the Elder
The Greeks landed in southern Italy in the 8th century B.C. and in typical Greek fashion they began planting and tending vines. To the...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 4 min
Ribera del Duero: Burgos, Spain
Our story this week begins as usual with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Visigoths maintained loose control over Iberia for a...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
Pais Basque: 4 + 3 = 1
**Initial disclaimer: The Basque produce no wine, a little bit of cider and their cuisine is virtually impossible to replicate outside...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 4 min
Catalunya: Barcelona, Gaudi and Rebellion
The initial ground work for this dinner we are going to enjoy tonight began right here in Livingston in 2005. Fourteen years ago, I met...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
The South of France: From Provence to the Languedoc and beyond
As the Rhone Valley opens up into the Mediterranean and the mountains fall away, we begin to head west into the open flat lands of...
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- Jun 24, 2021
- 3 min
Yountville: New American Cookery, Keller and Olney
Tonight we are celebrating a legacy created by such people as Paul Bocuse, Alice Waters, Kermit Lynch and Richard Olney. For me, the...
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