musicians and wine

Chinese Wine in the Voice of Russell Crowe

Plus, Burgundy and Champagne struggle for world heritage site recognition, get amped with Motörhead's new Shiraz in a box and Oregon gets a new AVA

Posted: February 7, 2013

Blogs : Harvey Steiman At Large

Bass Man Knows His Wine

Matt Penman explores the worlds of wine and jazz

Posted: February 4, 2013 By Harvey Steiman

Matt Penman pulled the cork on a Huët Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu 2011, poured me a sip and apologizes for the glassware. "I'm sorry for the plastic cups, but they won't let us have real wineglasses here."

We are in the green room in the new SFJAZZ Center, which bills itself as the first concert hall of its type in the United States: a freestanding performance venue with flexible seating and staging for artists of every stature, built specifically for jazz music and audiences alike. It opened recently in San Francisco on the corner of Franklin and Fell streets with a series of all-star concerts.

News & Features : Unfiltered

Best of Unfiltered 2012

Destruction trumped beauty in 2012, just barely, with demolished wineries drawing attention from models, actresses and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Posted: December 27, 2012

News & Features : Unfiltered

The Timberlake-Biel Wedding Cuvée

Plus, Hip-hop star Timbaland introduces a sparkling blend of wine and vodka, Adam Carolla introduces Mangria and more Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts

Posted: November 21, 2012

Blogs : Harvey Steiman At Large

Hearing Wine, Tasting Music

Conductor crosses the lines thanks to a childhood accident

Posted: November 21, 2012 By Harvey Steiman

John Axelrod tastes music and hears food and wine. As a result, he has a particular fascination for the links between music and gastronomy. He claims to be the only conductor who also ran a wine business. In the late 1990s he ran the Robert Mondavi wine center at Disneyland in Anaheim for three years. It was Mondavi's wife, Margrit Biever, who encouraged the young Axelrod, who has studied privately with Leonard Bernstein, to "take the leap of faith," as he put it, and pursue a career in music.

Today he leads the Orchestra National des Pays de la Loire in Angers, France, the Verdi Orchestra in Milan, Italy, and guest conducts throughout Europe. We chatted via Skype recently after he led a performance in Naples of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5. Axelrod explained that he has a form of synesthesia, a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. For Axelrod it is taste and sound, and it developed after he got mercury poisoning as a child. "The treatment created a bridge between taste and my hearing," he said.

Blogs : Harvey Steiman At Large

Notes on a Compelling Riesling

A tasting retrospective on Steingarten, a limited-production Riesling from a big wine company

Posted: November 6, 2012 By Harvey Steiman

Until about 20 years ago, Riesling was Australia's go-to white wine. It never made much an impact here in the United States, where Riesling from anywhere was a tough sell, but in Australia it seemed as if everyone drank it regularly, from punters to pundits. At least until Chardonnay rode its worldwide popularity to replace Riesling in Australian wine drinkers' glasses.

The good news for those of us who appreciate the clarity, ageability and zing of a good Aussie Riesling is that the grape never went away. In fact, it has become a darling of sommeliers and retailers here in America who decry oak and high alcohol in white wines. In the same way as two other personal favorites, Spain's Albariños and Italy's Falanghinas, dry Aussie Rieslings offer piquancy and charm to meld well with seafood, which I eat as often as I can.

Blogs : Harvey Steiman At Large

To Paraphrase Duke Ellington...

Are there really only two kinds of wine?

Posted: October 24, 2012 By Harvey Steiman

Some of us believe that Duke Ellington was America's greatest composer, even though he wrote in an idiom that many people then (and now) do not consider serious enough—jazz. His being something of an outsider, both because of his race and his musical genre, probably prompted his most famous quote, that "there are only two kinds of music: good music, and the other kind."

It's a telling remark, one that resonated with me the first time I ever heard it as a music student. I like to quote it today, when the diversity of the music we can pipe through our iPod earphones covers a range even the Duke couldn't imagine.

The same could be said about our favorite beverage. We can experience a wider choice of good wines today than ever before. And we are having the same kind of arguments over how to define good wine as those we had over just what constituted good music in Duke Ellington's day, or today, for that matter.

June 15, 2012 Issue : People

Sketches of Spain (and Bordeaux, Burgundy and Italy)

Jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson honed his love for wine on the road in Europe

Posted: June 15, 2012 By James Molesworth

News & Features : Unfiltered

Cellar Angel Jenny McCarthy

Plus, an American wine importer joins France's Legion d'Honneur and the Great GoogaMooga asks (and answers) if chefs are the new rock stars

Posted: May 24, 2012

News & Features : Unfiltered

Wine and Jubilees for Jack Nicklaus and the Queen

Plus, Port house Ramos Pinto hosts Monaco's royalty and the Great GoogaMooga is bringing wine and music to Brooklyn's Prospect Park

Posted: May 17, 2012

News & Features : Wine Talk

Pairing Wine and Music

Berkeley, Calif.-based Peter Eastlake curates the wine list for summer music festivals

Posted: May 11, 2012 By Jennifer Fiedler

News & Features : Unfiltered

Fergalicious Syrah

Plus, star chefs support Citymeals-on-Wheels and cancer research at Dînner des Grands Chefs and Taste of Hope, and a Mother's Day treat: cookies created specifically for wine pairing

Posted: May 10, 2012

News & Features : Unfiltered

Andrea Bocelli Hopes His Tuscan Wines Will Sing

Plus, a Sept. 11 Memorial from Burgundy, White House Correspondent wines and Copia's sad last sale

Posted: May 3, 2012

News & Features : Unfiltered

Blood Red Wine from Slayer

Plus, a Eurythmics-Mollydooker collaboration, House Band eco-packaged wine for festivals and rock stars fete Jordan's 40th birthday

Posted: April 26, 2012

News & Features : Wine Talk

Sketches of Spain (and Bordeaux, Burgundy and Italy)

Jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson honed his love for wine on the road in Europe

Posted: March 23, 2012 By James Molesworth

Blogs : Exploring Wine with Tim Fish

Lady Gaga Does Sonoma

Flamboyant pop singer surprises fans, but what wine does she drink?

Posted: February 29, 2012 By Tim Fish

Sonoma is one of the last places I'd expect to see Lady Gaga, that flamboyant goddess of pop music. We're a little light on paparazzi and six-inch stiletto heels around these parts, but last week Gaga and her modest entourage were repeatedly spotted at restaurants around the county, as well as Napa and Marin.

For the unenlightened, Lady Gaga is a 25-year-old singer who is recognized around the world, in part because of catchy dance hits such as "Bad Romance" and "Born This Way," but also because of her edgy live performances, savvy social media skills and willingness to pull outrageous stunts like wearing a dress made entirely of meat to the MTV Video Music Awards.