CRLJENAK KASTELJANSKI By Dan Berger For well over 100 years, the origins of the grape we call Zinfandel was unknown. Books were written about the mysterious background of the grape,…
CHAMPAGNE 2 By Dan Berger For all the excitement it generates, for all the pizzazz of its presentation, the explosive sound of its cork popping, the fact that it is…
CHAMPAGNE By Dan Berger The traditional “pop” heard at weddings may be generated by any number of sparkling wines — buck-ninety-nine domestic fizzy, where the bottle is worth more…
BE ADVENTURESOME By Dan Berger Chardonnay is still the No. 1 wine that Americans order in restaurants, both by the glass and the bottle. And it’s no surprise why: It…
RED RHÔNE BLENDS By Dan Berger Americans seem fixated on varietal wines. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and many more now are seen on the majority of wines.…
ALSACE ALSACE: ONE OF THE FINEST GROWING REGIONS IN THE WORLD One of France’s finest wine-growing regions, and one of its least understood, is the Alsace, a northerly region bordering…
PORT PASS THE PORT Growing up there was always Port wine in the house. My father was in the Navy for 23 years where he learned about Port from centuries…
SPARKLING WINE FOR LIFE’S CELEBRATIONS I am always humbled by the generosity, camaraderie and great relationships that are seeded and continue to blossom in this wine world. This story…
GRAPE EXPOSÉ: PINOT NOIR Today’s grape is the fickle Pinot Noir variety supposedly made (more) famous, at least in the U.S., by a little movie called Sideways and an equally fickle…