For insight into the nature of French Malbec, which is the O.G. (original gangsta) Malbec—not Argentinean, although you’d be forgiven for thinking that—look to Cahors, a small wine region in southwestern France.   The 2015 CLOS LA COUTALE Cahors, which is 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot, at around $16 and brought to the U.S. by the... Read more →

The thing about Côtes du Rhône wine is, you never know what you’re going to get. This can either be a source of fun or frustration. Is it going to be easygoing and fruity, or bold and spicy?—medium-bodied, structured and tannic, or round and velvety? You can look at the alcohol content to get a clue—is it around 13.5% (most likely... Read more →

More is more. Wait. Isn’t less more? More drum ‘n’ bass and less bass and drum solos, more or less? Oh. The topic is barrel-aged imperial stouts, not double live albums from prog-rock dinosaurs in the mid-70s, doofus. Fine. What happens when barrel-aged imperial stouts, by definition “more is more” already, have extra... Read more →

More is more. Wait. Isn’t less more? More drum ‘n’ bass and less bass and drum solos, more or less? Oh. The topic is barrel-aged imperial stouts, not double live albums from prog-rock dinosaurs in the mid-70s, doofus. Fine. What happens when barrel-aged imperial stouts, by definition “more is more” already, have extra... Read more →

People are getting woke to Jesse Katz.     When the winemaker extraordinaire sets the world record for most expensive bottle ever sold—a custom blend of The Setting Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, at $350,000 in November of 2017—it’s like an explosion in the collective consciousness of the wine community that... Read more →