Jan. 31 - Feb. 28, 2013 Issue
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News
Posted: February 28, 2013 By Mitch Frank, Thomas Matthews
Jan. 31 - Feb. 28, 2013 Issue
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Features
After boom then bust, the wine industry is growing steadily again. Where can you find the best values?
Posted: February 28, 2013 By Mitch Frank
Blogs
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Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice
Grapes are becoming more expensive, and wineries are feeling the pinch
Posted: February 7, 2013 By Mitch Frank
At the end of 2008, my California colleague Tim Fish and I made a bet. So far, neither of us has won. Tim was working with me on a cover story on how the wine industry was confronting the darkest days of the Great Recession, when average Americans were watching the value of their biggest assets—their homes—evaporate.
Despite their woes, consumers never abandoned wine. Since the early 1990s, wine has become an increasing presence in Americans' lives, and they were not willing to suddenly part with what they saw as a pretty affordable luxury. But they did cut back on what they were willing to spend—a $9 bottle became very attractive, and a special-occasion wine meant $25 instead of $40. Wineries responded. They did not cut prices too obviously, but they made less of their more expensive wines (like Russian River single-vineyard Pinot Noir) and shifted that juice into more affordable wines (cheaper Sonoma County Pinot).
Are you coming for the game? Good. (If not, pay attention, because you should visit soon.) It's not hyperbole to say that New Orleans is one of the greatest cities on the planet in which to celebrate. If you enjoy good food, wine, beer, cocktails and music, it is hard to go wrong. Here are some tips for making the best of a trip down here. This isn't a comprehensive list of the best places to eat and drink. It's a handy cheat sheet for anyone coming to watch the 49ers and the Ravens, or just coming to enjoy our insanity.
Blogs
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Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice
New Orleans offers myriad food and drink options for anyone coming to the big game; here's my cheat sheet
Posted: January 24, 2013 By Mitch Frank
New Orleans is a little insane right now. Maybe that sounds silly describing a city where it's not odd to witness a brass band marching past your front porch, with your neighbors dancing behind it. But New Orleans is a little more insane than usual right now. This year, wedged tightly in the middle of the Carnival parades that start Friday, the NFL has brought the Super Bowl to town.
Are you coming for the game? Good. (If not, pay attention, because you should visit soon.) It's not hyperbole to say that New Orleans is one of the greatest cities on the planet in which to celebrate. If you enjoy good food, wine, beer, cocktails and music, it is hard to go wrong. Here are some tips for making the best of a trip down here. This isn't a comprehensive list of the best places to eat and drink. It's a handy cheat sheet for anyone coming to watch the 49ers and the Ravens, or just coming to enjoy our insanity.
Blogs
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Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice
A study says three firms account for 51.5 percent of U.S. wine sales, but the diversity of wine depends mostly on where you shop
Posted: January 8, 2013 By Mitch Frank
Whether you find it wonderful or intimidating, we can all agree wine's variety is plentiful. Well, maybe not. A recent study asked: Who owns all those brands on the store shelves? Is wine really a business of thousands of small family wineries, or is it just as corporate as spirits and soda?
Blogs
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Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice
Blind tastings can be a perfect way to embarrass yourself, but they can also expand your wine horizons
Posted: January 3, 2013 By Mitch Frank
Everyone at my end of the table thought we knew what the wine was. We were all wrong.
The object of our confusion was a bottle sitting a few feet away, covered in a sheath of tartan wrapping paper. We all had some of the wine in our glasses. A few of my friends thought it was a California red, maybe from Sonoma County. Ron was pretty sure there was Cabernet Franc in it, thanks to a taste of tobacco leaf. I tasted it too, but I thought the wine was from France—maybe a Right Bank Bordeaux made from Merlot and Cab Franc.
Bryant, the charming (and apparently devious) friend who brought the wine, unwrapped the bottle. Inside was the gift of humiliation—a bottle of Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Coastal Region 2009—from South Africa.
Welcome to wine's most humbling game—the blind tasting.
Dec. 31, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 Issue
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Features
Posted: December 31, 2012 By Mitch Frank
Dec. 31, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 Issue
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Features
Posted: December 31, 2012 By Mitch Frank
Dec. 31, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 Issue
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Features
Posted: December 31, 2012 By Mitch Frank
Dec. 31, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 Issue
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Features
Posted: December 31, 2012 By Augustus Weed, Mitch Frank, Tim Fish, Alison Napjus
