March 20, 2019 | by Paul Quaglini
Last month I was invited to dinner at one of those splashy Miami restaurants. I arrived early and decided to order a glass of wine at the bar. They had an eclectic, by the glass selection which immediately raised my good vibe of the establishment. As I sat there enjoying a glass of Franciacorta, I grew increasingly disheartened listening to what people were ordering. I must have heard at least a dozen times, “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay/ Pinot Grigio/ Cabernet”, and that’s OK if all you want is something in your glass you are familiar with. The longer I sat there the stronger my urge grew to ask someone, “Don’t you have any sense of adventure? They have such a great selection of wine by the glass!”
January 28, 2018 | by ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
You’ve probably heard or seen it before: A wine label reads, “grapes grown on high elevation vineyards.” Perhaps you've heard a winemaker or salesperson brag, “The grapes for this wine were grown on a mountainside.”
January 13, 2018 | by Meghan Guarino
There are "wine experts" and there are wine experts. "Wine experts" tell you that Bordeaux is split between the Left Bank and the Right Bank. Wine experts tell you the type of soil that is on each bank. Shayne Hebert is a wine expert.
July 7, 2017 | by Meghan Guarino
Last week I had a dream I was in a majestic residence in the heart of Verona Italy. I was upstairs in this palatial building overlooking the Roman Arena while enjoying lunch with more than 100 of Italy’s top winemakers.
June 2, 2017 | by Meghan Guarino
Americans have been having a love affair with ‘Cucina Italiano’ for years. Right alongside our love of Italian food is our passion for Italian wines
April 24, 2017 | by ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
Ah, one of my favorite times of the year has arrived. I’m not talking about the start of baseball season, however I am looking forward to seeing my beloved Red Sox make another run at a World Series title. No, I’m talking about what happens in the wine world this time of year. This is the season for many of the world’s biggest and most influential wine trade shows.
Prowein (Dusseldorf, Germany) and Vinitaly (Verona, Italy) both take place in the next couple of weeks and I’m delighted that ABCFWS has once again asked me to attend Vinitaly in search of more great Italian wine.
Vinitaly is regarded as one of the preeminent trade shows in the wine world. This year over 150,000 visitors are expected to turn out. Attendees include distributors, wholesalers, importers, bars, restaurants, sommeliers, the trade press and serious retailers like ABCFWS. It will be four days of non-stop meetings, tastings, workshops and events designed to encourage contacts between exhibitors and those of us in the trade. For anyone who thinks I’m going on vacation I would love to invite you along for just one day.
April 13, 2017 | by ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
I was at a recent ABC Wine Tasting sampling out one of my favorite wines, Tenuta Cavalier Pepe’s Nestor Greco di Tufo from Campania, Italy
March 16, 2017 | by Meghan Guarino
I’ve had the good fortune of visiting almost all of Italy, both as a wine professional and as an avid tourist, and I’m still surprised at how many people still think all Italian wine is just Chianti and Pinot Grigio.
March 14, 2017 | by ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
Ok, I admit it. I occasionally buy a lottery ticket and dream of having an unlimited budget to spend on any wine I want, any day of the week. However, until that day comes I’ve resigned myself to being a bargain hunter like most people. And after all, who doesn’t love finding a great value in their local wine shop? That’s not to say I’m content drinking just any plonk solely because it’s inexpensive.
