Tasting Blind Wine industry professionals (i.e., winemakers, writers, sommeliers, researchers, educators, buyers, sellers, importers, sales managers) have many ways to spend their days: Harvesting grapes, meeting with customers, researching trends, wine tastings, and, one of my favorites, joining a group for a blind wine event. A few days ago, I spent a grey New York […]
Would you travel nude or naked?
Face Forward. Please! Traveling sucks the moisture out of our skin! We may start the journey looking terrific and deplane looking a total wreck because of the anxiety of getting to and through airports and security, the questions on whether the flight will depart/land on-time without incident, the dismay caused by the dry air on […]
Spanish winery architect brings attention to Baigorri wines
There are wineries and then there is Baigorri (started in 2000), currently owned by Pedro Martinez Hernandez. This Rioja winery is an outstanding architectural achievement and engineering marvel, set in a beautiful landscape that creates the perfect environment for the production and enjoyment of world-class wines. Located between Logrono and Laguardia, in the town of […]
Spain’s secret: Txakoli wines
The first mention of Txakoli (pronounced cha-ko-lee) wines dates back to 1520. The wine was locally consumed and rarely enjoyed beyond Basque Country borders. Historically, home-made in baserris (Basque farm houses), it was considered low-quality wine, and frequently used as barter between neighbors. It was fermented in old oak barrels and carried with it a […]
Drink like a New Yorker
NY drinks NY wines: History and hybrids
New York Wines: Disaster in the Beginning Historians have documented the fact that grapes were first introduced to New York by the Dutch (1647-1664); sadly, the crops failed. A few years later, the French Huguenot settlers in Ulster County tried to plant European varietals (1667) and they too were unsuccessful. William Robert Prince (1795—1869) Finally, […]
AIDS/HIV research supported by design community
Members of the Design Industries have supported AIDS research since 1984 through the Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA), a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization incorporated in New York State. DIFFA started as a grassroots organization and today is a national foundation headquartered in New York City with chapters in Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and the […]
NY Visit: Creative approaches to traditional spaces
Architectural Digest Home Design Show Delivers 40,000 people (approximately) attended the AD Home Design Show earlier this month. Architects, interior designers, retailers and wholesalers, students and journalists, artists and gallery owners, casually meandered up and down the aisles of Pier 94 in Manhattan, finding fun, unique, modern, and traditional designs and products that inspire new […]
Czech Memorial Scrolls survived the Holocaust and travel to New York City
The fact that a few of the 1,564 Czech Memorial Scrolls were all in one place at the same time, was almost a miracle. It took detailed planning and the cooperation of many institutions to bring these historical documents to New York City’s Temple Emanu-El for one-evening. It is only through the efforts of the […]
It is wine time: Meet the new competition
The Association for the Promotion of Wines and Spirits in North America (APVSA), headquartered in Montreal, Canada, provides assistance to European wine and spirits producers who want to export their products – especially to North America. To reach this objective, the association schedules 6 tours per year primarily in the USA, Canadian and European markets. […]