"Say, can I have some of your purple berries, yes I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now, never got sick once, probably keep us both alive." Really beautiful aromas of black currant, black cherries, a slight gaminess but opening nicely with exotic flavors and clean acidity. Flavors from the earth, alive and well MORE >>

Squat and squeezed on Columbus between 70th and 71st Streets, Bin 71 gets cozy at night, in a subway-rush-hour kind of way. It’s dark with a marble top 12-seat bar, and a flat screen TV that glares like a mother’s raised brow from the corner. Television aside  and there’s a fine 100 bottle selection, [.]. MORE >>

This big red Tempranillo from the Navarro region of Spain has deep red colors, and strong meaty aromas with strawberries, dried cherries and earthtones. bit high on the acidity, with flavors of V8 juice, raspberry, spice, dried herbs and leather. Finish is very dry, with strong tannins, 14% alcohol content and $9.99/bottle in NYC. MORE >>

SPIT: “pinot noir&#. Pinot or dunno? The caché of the fickle pinot noir has led to a proliferation of low-priced pinots, which, by US law, must only contain 75 percent to state the grape on the label. The court will likely hand down its decision in two weeks. SIPPED: “wine&#. NYTimes.com ]. SIPPED: wine in supermarkets. SIPPED: science! MORE >>

In 1993 Englebert Prieler, an Austrian vintner, decided for the first time to bottle a single-vineyard wine from the grape variety Blaufränkisch. When it came time to sell the wine, he priced it the same as his better known Cabernet Sauvignon. However, the Blaufränkisch bottles languished unsold until a Swiss collector bought them all as a block. MORE >>