Blog Designer

I’m a relatively new convert to the benefits of aging rosé. Readers can easily find evidence in my earlier writing (see archives) of yours truly snickering at the thought of drinking rosés from the previous year’s

Mark and I spent the week of Christmas in Paris. We found a really beautiful one-bedroom flat in our favorite neighborhood - the Marais.

This pairing was a really lucky guess on my part. I had already chosen the menu for the Christmas dinner we would be having and had shopped for the ingredients at the contiguous Marché Beauvau and Marché d'Aligré - markets I highly recommend!

I popped into a wine store about 50 paces from our apartment to choose a wine and asked what wines they had from Provence; aside from a nice

Having a passion for wine is wonderful. Yet if people think this appreciation has turned you into some kind of vinous savant, then beware. As I write the story of my recent experience that led to this caveat, I am reminded of a scenario from an old Hollywood western—I am a longtime movie buff—in which some folks envision you as the fastest gun around the OK Corral, and they would love nothing better than to outdraw you.

I had such a “quick draw” moment earlier this fall in Bordeaux. It was totally unexpected, as it came in the very agreeable environment

I must tell you that I have never tasted a wine like this before, and yet there is something so familiar in every sip. It's akin to meeting someone for the first time, yet feeling in your heart that you have known her or him all your life. It's a sense of immediate warmth and comfort. That is how this wine made me feel. Having enjoyed many dessert wines, from the sublime (Château d'Yquem Sauternes) to the ridiculous (no one shall be excoriated here), this wine stands apart - my new-old friend. I truly love it!

The name of wine personage Isabelle Legeron may not resonate with you. For her numerous admirers she is “That Crazy French Woman.” She is the first woman of that nation to be accredited with a Master of Wine diploma, of which there are less than 400 in the world wine trade.

Susan brought back this bottle for me from her most recent trip to Provence. A little something to thank me for being a part of the Provence WineZine family. Honestly, I am so lucky to be part of this endeavor, as I am constantly learning about wines, pairings, and my own

Do you ever wonder, as I often do, how people come to do what they are doing? How did an American jazz and gospel singer/former attorney and her French attorney/wine aficionado husband

How could it be in the twenty-two years since I returned to the States after a six-year career segment based in Lyon, that I could have overlooked the huge deal the fall wine sales still are in France? I guess for one thing, we have always gone back for our annual holiday in the summer, where to the delight of my wife Benedicte the summer clothes sales are in full swing. Both wine and clothing sales are semi-annual events in France, legislated at the national level. They are eagerly anticipated and, from what I have seen, produce the desired sales activity.

Of all places, I was reminded of

If you follow what’s happening in Lourmarin, the charming village at the southern base of the Luberon where the Manfull family has been hanging their hats for many years, you’ve no doubt seen something about “Lourmarin, Lourmarin.”  Have you wondered what “Lourmarin, Lourmarin” is?  Earlier this year, it started popping up on FaceBook and Instagram and I, for one, wondered what it...

If you are in Provence and looking for something different to do—in between touring Roman ruins and visiting hilltop villages—I’ve got the answer:  Kick off your shoes, climb into a huge oak barrel filled with grapes, and start stomping.  That’s what Provence WineZine photographer Pamela O’Neill and I did earlier this month when we visited Les Pastras, an organic farm, located in the southern part of the Luberon, most known for their truffles.  We had a ball, not to mention felt a little like Lucille Ball in her iconic I Love Lucy episode about her adventure stomping...