France’s Gascony region has long been famous for the Three Musketeers, Armagnac and foie gras. Lately it’s becoming known for white wines as we learned at a luncheon at Orsay earlier this week. Wines from Domaine du Tariquet were paired with a menu that featured ingredients from D’Artagnan that ran the gamut from foie gras to pheasant. Some dishes overpowered the wines, particularly an Asian duck salad with a pickled ginger component that ran roughshod......

To qualify as a Kick Ass Summer Sipper (K.A.S.S.) you need to meet three criterion. First, you must be refreshing and cold. Crisp is also good. Second, you must have layers and flavor and personality. And finally, you need to be cheap. The last one is perhaps the most important being that the objective of these wines are to be casual, quaffable and enjoyable – particularly out of a plastic cup (good plastic of course).......

Ask any kid who grew up on Long Island, and they could easily rattle off their favorite Entenmann’s desserts. For us, no contest, the Devil’s Food Crumb Donuts are as good as it gets. We’d eat off all the chocolate, sugar-coated crumbs first, one by one, and then save the naked donut for our final conquest. It somehow felt like two desserts that way. Maybe it’s all those fond childhood memories of sugar highs mixed......

First off, let us set the record straight. Gotham Bar and Grill and Gothamist are not related. We do not share any parent holding company and there is no sordid history to tell of. The experience that we are about to share is an unbiased tale of a wine geek, just trying to find a quality glass of wine and a comfy stool at the bar. After last weeks research on great happy hour deals......

Walking down 8th street in Greenwich Village you’ll find some of the most random collection of stores all snuggled together. From Ricky’s, Johnny Rockets and Otto to the eclectic series of shoe stores dubbed “shoe row” you never now what’s going to pop up next. But with three months under their belt, Is-Wine, the new kid to the block, seems to have no trouble fitting right in. Their friendly and personal approach may have something......

Savennieres. It’s not a wine that you hear about everyday. This little area in the Loire Valley produces some of the greatest wines from the Chenin Blanc grape. But likely due to its small size (both geographically and in terms of producers) and the lack of hype surrounding the Chenin Blanc grape, it easily falls under the radar for most wine enthusiasts. But those who happen across a Savennieres quickly champion the cause. Maybe it’s......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......

What’s there not to like about Sauvignon Blanc? When it’s good, it can be like spring in a glass – lively acidity, bright citrus notes wrapped up in grassy aromas. Just thinking about it, your taste buds perk up with interest. During the summer, we usually keep a bottle or two at the ready (usually a Sancerre) to help quench our cravings. But leave it to us to overdo a good thing (don’t even ask......

There is something comforting about familiarity. You go to the same place, order that dish you like and go with the wine that’s the old stand-by. You know what you’re going to get and you’ll know you’ll like it. It’s not a bad thing but sometimes you just need to break the habit - walk down a different street, surprise yourself, take a risk and hope for the best. Some of the best nights we’ve......

It’s not everyday that you can celebrate the 700th birthday of anything. In fact, the Mona Lisa seems like a blushing teenager at only 500 years old. But 2006 marked an important anniversary for one of the great Chateaux of Bordeaux – Chateau Pape Clement. This vineyard, the oldest named in Bordeaux, harvested its 700th crop this year (the Chateau itself is pictured below). But how do you celebrate a 700-year anniversary? By this......

It's easy to bring out your inner sommelier -- just step outside. At our doorstep are some of the finest ingredients just begging to be matched with wine. A stroll down Bleecker Street with Ted Allen, the food and wine expert from Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (pictured at right tasting the pulp of a cacao pod for the first time) showed us how simple it was to create elegant and seemingly fancy......

Once you get past the budget deficit, the war in Iraq and the fact that McDonald’s stops serving McGriddles after 11am, you’ll find that there is a lot to be proud of when it comes to this country. However our wines may not be the first thing to come to mind. It’s not that we are surprised when we have good wine from the U.S., we know that there are quality producers out there. It’s......

In years past, Gothamist reduced ourselves to the lowest possible denominator to avoiding drinking Kosher for Passover wine. Parents if you are reading, look away. We are not proud to admit this, but we drew the Kosher symbol on those bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah we brought to the Seder. We were young and foolish, but wow, what a difference good wine makes. Well, last night, a miracle of sorts happened at our Seder.......

Terroir is one of those concepts where if you put 50 wine geeks in a room and let them talk among themselves, you can create a heated discussion around dirt. Add to that equation a blind wine tasting and hold it at Daniel and it’s possible that a cheese puff and caviar food fight may erupt. The potential to see little bites of culinary genus thrown maliciously at Masters of Wine and industry greats was......

The world of wine and spirits has historically been a male-dominated arena – from the old-school sommeliers in bowties and silver tastevins around their necks to the grand chateaus passed down from father to son. However, this ancient industry has evolved and grown to cater to its bellowing fan base. No longer only a boys’ club, women have become a driving force in the production, service and consumption of wine. Forget the notion of girls......

Sometimes one just isn’t enough. This can be true when it comes to lobster rolls at the Black Pearl, cashiers at Duane Reade and that tasty little chocolate that they leave on your pillow in hotels (especially if it’s a Toblerone). When it comes to wine there is also something to be said about having more than one grape variety. Blends, or wines that are a blend of different grape varieties, can be some......

With the weather getting cold so quickly (did we blink and miss Fall?), wine drinkers have a tendency to make the switch from white to red wines. But before you pack up your whites with the flip-flops, you may want to check this Sancerre that knocked our socks off. Sancerre is a white wine, from the Loire Valley in France, made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. They are crisp and vibrant with citrus and floral......

It was bound to happen. The Hamptons, or as Gothamist likes to think of it, a displacement home for wealthy New Yorkers, finally got their own wine and food festival. The talent read like a who’s who of the food and wine circuit: Rick Moonen, Michael Romano, Steven Jenkins and Floyd Cardoz all boarded the Hampton Jitney to share their secrets with those who could afford the $150 ticket. Or for the big spenders $650......

Summer crept up on us this year - one day 40 degrees and rain, next a sweltering 87 degrees. Ok, maybe sweltering is a little dramatic, but after trekking 30 minutes across town to the 6 train, down the never-ending stairs and waiting “patiently” for the train to come – all we wanted was a cold refreshing beverage (or three). So we made a little detour to the wine store. Summertime is a great time......

First it was Australia, then it was New Zealand . . . now the next New World wine region to capture the hearts and taste buds of New Yorkers is South America. What makes this region so spectacular for easy to drink, plush, fruity wines is the perfect climate. Grapes get to bask in the warm Latin sun – enjoying a particularly long ripening season. Kind of like the holiday we wish we could take.......

There is a reason why wine and liquor are some of the most popular gifts during the holidays. After braving the tourist filled shops and torturing ourselves over whether to go with the green turtleneck sweater or the black leather gloves for Aunt Molly – the only thing you really need is a stiff cocktail. Therefore to avoid the horrific New York shopping experience (yes we are slightly bitter – but have you tried navigating......

You�re on a date. We�ve all been there. You�ve checked your teeth � all clear, deodorant � check, you even remembered to switch to the good underwear � just in case. The waiter drops off the menus and wine list � so far so good. Now here�s the tricky part, before even deciding whether to go for the Lobster Risotto with Saffron or the Chicken Paillard � you have to select a wine. Some people......