Chilean wines are hot right now both because of their quality and their value. Personally, I think that on the bottom end of the price scale (under $10) Chilean wine is often the way to go. Laurel Lake Vineyards, in Laurel, New York, has brought Chilean winemaking talent and experience to our Bordeaux-esque microclimate…and the results are quite good. Purchased by Chilean investors in 1999, Laurel Lakes is delievering  well-crafted and resonably priced wines to a New York market often filled with over-priced bottles. While not as well known as some of the over-hyped, marketing-crazed Long Island wineries, Laurel Lakes’…

Many of us have lived fairly charmed lives…lives where we more-or-less have never wanted for anything. Sure, we may not have had foie gras on our plates or Petrus in our glasses every night, but we always had a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. We never had to worry about the basics of survival…and we should be grateful. Today, food and wine bloggers from the world over are taking the time to help those that are battling for the survival we too often take for granted…those so devastated by the tsunami in Sout East Asia and…

On Tuesday, February 22, 2005, the first annual TasteEverything Festival and Awards will take place "virutally" on an Internet near you! Your’s truly is a member of the awards jury…but I can’t tell you anymore than that…it’s a secret. I will tell you that my involvement isn’t really wine related…if you can believe it! Check out the press release and keep an eye out for the posts on various food and wine blogs. It promises to be a fun and interesting event!

As reported today in Reuters: BEIJING (Reuters) – The French used grapes, Russians fermented potatoes, Koreans put ginseng in their drink and Mexicans distilled cactus plants to make fiery tequila. Now China is introducing fish wine. Sun Keman, an entrepreneur in the northeastern port city of Dalian, has formed the Dalian Fisherman’s Song Maritime Biological Brewery, with a plan to use his background in the fishing industry to make fish into wine. "Different from China’s thousands of years of brewing, the brewery will clean, boil, and ferment fish for making wine," the official Xinhua news agency reported. The company already…

Normally, an apple wine wouldn’t be able to work it’s way into my tasting queue. As much as I like to battle wine-snobbery…I’ll admit to being a bit guilty of it myself when it comes to wines made from fruits other than grapes. The last apple wine I’d tasted was what…Thunderbird? (it was college, cut me a little slack). Not exactly a great experience as I recall. But, when my friends at Wolffer Estate sent me a bottle of their 2004 Big Apple Wine, I figured I had to give it a shot. I mean, I’ve written about several of…

(This column appeared in the 1/28/05 issue of Dan’s Papers) Over the Barrel…With Lenn Thompson Inspired Winemaking at Waters Crest Winery Jim Waters of Waters Crest Winery in Cutchogue has a great story to tell, one that will touch your heart as well as your palate. Home winemakers turning pro aren’t particularly rare in the wine world, but the inspiration for Waters’ conversion sets him apart. For years, he worked for trucking and freight carrier companies. Wine was his passion, but not his profession. That all changed after the September 11 tragedy three years ago. A volunteer fireman and fire…

It seems like new wine blogs are popping up every day on Wine Blog Watch. Some are actually new while some have been around a while but are just now being listed, inlcuding a couple from down under. I’ve started reading the following and think you might enjoy them too: Appellation Australia explores, you guessed it, Aussie wines. It’s a very new site having just launched on January 21st. Pinot Island is another wine blog from down under…Tasmania to be more specific. Lots of great information for those interested in wines in that region Grape Radio is one part blog,…