have three Ravenscroft glasses, for example, that I use for Cabernet Franc and Syrah. One of the wines I served was the utterly excellent 2001 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux , $65, Imported by Neal Rosenthal Wine Merchant. I have a lot of wine glasses, but they are mismatched, as I have broken many over the years. MORE >>

Yet the sixth is an “imposter&# – not a Champagne from the named region in Northern France, but a Napa Valley sparkler. Wines 1 – 4 were very pale and elegant, the robe (or color as they say in France) was like that of a pale onion skin. “Of course, I can detect a California sparkler!&# Schram and J. MORE >>

Winemakers Notes: Syrah has found an ideal home in the Finger Lakes , where our climate mimics France's Rhone Valley, where the grape produces some of the finest wines in the world. Syrah has always been one to those wines I could take or leave it. Almost all that I had ever tasted were the Shiraz from Australia. From that day on I was a fan. MORE >>

Can't seem to find a Finger Lakes Riesling I don't like. Thanks to my son, this past weekend I opened a dry Riesling from Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars located in Lodi, NY, on the east side of Seneca Lake and my first stop on the annual " Deck the Halls " event on Dec. have to say his timing was impeccable. g/L pH: 2.93 Alcohol by Volume: 12.1 MORE >>

Cabernet franc grown on limestone from a top grower in Chinon. La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva (The 2001 is their current vintage for just under $30 and sufficient barrel and bottle aging to be declared a Gran Reserva). And around $30 a bottle? have a case and plan to age at least half of it for a decade. It sells for under $30. MORE >>