Le Pousseur (100% Syrah), Bonny Doon Vineyard, 2008, Central Coast (13.5% abv) There is something transporting about this wine, like being wrapped up in a harlot’s velvet shawl. You enter the room somewhat willingly, thinking you know what you’re in store for, wanting to keep it light and fun, only to find your mind and [...]

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There are certain sign posts that mark the passage of the seasons.  The first smoke billowing forth from the chimneys, the first leaf you see falling from the trees, the first flower you see resiliently climbing forth from the sidewalk cracks on 12th street, or the first snowflake you see falling from the sky, silhouetted [...]

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Greetings from Amsterdam (and no, I am not writing you from a smoke-filled coffee shop). Tomorrow, we return to NYC after 93 days in Europe.  Along the way, we have met countless inspiring artisans making wine, beer and spirits in the name of craftsmanship. They toil away in nooks around the world, battling the forces [...]

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My only request for Kat’s beer run was to include “some interesting boozy thing in a can”.  Along with a cold tall boy of Mythos and one of Fix Hellas, she came back with this beauty. “OriGINal Long Drink”: Gin-Grapefruit drink.  Contains the following:  water, sugar, gin, carbon dioxide, acid, flavours, stabilizer, safflower and lemon [...]

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Forget wine. Forget beer. They’re mere newbies in the world of fermented beverages. Mead is the patriarch, the original, the granddaddy that launched the human fascination with alcohol. But, strangely enough, it’s fallen out of fashion. How could this be? This was the drink of Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks; the drink of the brave [...]

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Pinot Gris, Prophet’s Rock, 2009, Central Otago (13.2% abv) The orcs are moving in on you.  You can hear their gnarled grunts approaching the perimeter of your camp like a fast-moving plague.  The ringwraiths were spotted yesterday on the horizon, their ghostlike, ethereal figures barely visible through the fog. You’re being hunted.  And the enemy [...]

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Contra, Bonny Doon Vineyard, 2009, Contra Costa County (13.5% abv) At the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon in Northern Colorado, lies a small store that sells Black Bing Cherries.  Juices, ciders, jams, you name it. The store itself was unmissable; a large red roof over a white building from which hung hundreds of red juice [...]

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Gouden Carolus Tripel, Brouwerij Het Anker, Belgium (9% abv) A wolf in sheep’s clothing…yep, that about sums it up. Belgian Tripels are deceptively smooth and ridiculously drinkable; watch out, though, cause they’ll knock you on your ass lickety-split.  Granted, you’ll have a big smile on your face, but on your ass, you will be knocked. [...]

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Tequila Reposado, Casa Noble, Mexico (40% abv) Tequila: it’s not just for margaritas anymore. I’m kind of shocked at the sheer number of people that have never tried good tequila…and I don’t mean expensive Tequila, I just mean the authentic kind. For all those who love it, but have only been weaned off the teet [...]

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Oude Geuze (lambic), Drie Fonteinen, Belgium   (6.5% abv)   Last night, one of my co-workers asked me what my favorite beer on our list is.   I was paralyzed.  Whoa, choose one?  But these are my babies and they’re all unique in their own way!  How could I possibly zero it down to one?  I felt like [...]

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La Lettre à Élise (100% Chenin Blanc), Domaine Mosse, NV, Loire Valley (13.5 % abv) I’m a ridiculously huge fan of the whites from the Loire Valley.  Just as Pavlov’s dogs salivate at the sound of his bell, simply saying the words “white” and “Loire” in the same sentence around me will cause feverish sweats [...]

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“Epic”: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); “an epic voyage”; “of heroic proportions” This past Friday night, we embarked on an epic voyage.  Like brave conquistadors in search of the riches of the world, our ragtag faction of BrewYorker’s (a group of NY-based homebrewers, probrewers, beer bloggers and all-around [...]

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Dearest readers, I am stoked to share some exciting news with you.  In addition to my vinous, brewish and libatious duties here at Grapes & Grains, I am pleased to announce that I will be expanding my reach further into the realm of the blogosphere… I have been invited to join the staff of the New [...]

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Can the spirit of the land be captured in a bottle?  Can time, geography and culture be turned into liquid?  Yes it can. The Finger Lakes is a place of magic with rolling countrysides, vineyards, orchards, lakes and hamlets that remind me more of Ireland than the US.  And there, Finger Lakes Distilling is cranking [...]

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There’s some funky shit going on in the US craft beer scene, and one brewery is leading the charge.  Located far from the usual suspects on the West coast, the East Coast and the Colorado beer belt, one must travel to the tiny town of Dexter, Michigan (population of around 3,000), to find Jolly Pumpkin [...]

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