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Why and how does wine make you hungry? I have a library of wine books, some of them written by me, and none of them provides an answer to this engrossing question, even though wine has long been prescribed as an appetite stimulant. I don't think it can simply be the alcohol. In my. More...

Alice Waters, the founder of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California in 1971 and the passionate campaigner for local, sustainable and seasonal food, will be made a Chevalier du Legion d’Honneur by the French Consul General in San Francisco this Friday. It will be a quiet ceremony. More...

Here's an intriguing idea. Piper Heidsieck, who sponsors the 30-year-old professional Sommelier of the Year competition in the UK is launching a competition to find the Amateur Sommelier of the Year - and you don't have to pour a drop! It's open to anyone outside the wine trade or sommelier. More...

Laura Conway is a wine professional living in San Francisco who was Vinfolio's content manager and editor from 2004 until recently and is currently attending the Wine MBA hosted by the Bordeaux École de Management (BEM). This executive MBA programme consists of six two-and-a-half-week sessions. More...

We finish our week devoted to Mature Bordeaux with an account of some of the most famous red bordeaux of the last century and some of their peers. The last time we stayed chez the late Bill Baker in the atmospheric West Country millhouse he shared with his wife Kate, children. More...

The following notes were taken at a super-luxurious comparative tasting hosted by Christie's in London back in November 2005. I'm publishing them as part of my intention to beef up the number of reviews we offer of wines that are ready to drink or approaching drinkability.. More...

E&J Gallo's first and only public tasting room , located on the tourism yellow brick road that is the Healdsburg plaza in Sonoma County, shuttered last week, covering the windows with butcher paper and posting a sign on the door that said the company decided not to renew its lease, yet. More...

Umay Çeviker, the Turkish architect I met on our visit to Turkey last May, told me that he made frequent trips to Georgia and had a particular interest in Georgian wine. (He also told me about President George W Bush Street, the name of the main road from the airport into the capital. More...

Earlier today in Day of reckoning for Vinfolio I reported that founder and CEO Steve Bachmann had left and wondered what was next for the troubled San Francisco fine wine company. The following press release just in answers that question. It seems that Jean-Michel Valette MW and Jon. More...

Most of my tasting notes are taken at professional tastings, increasingly straight on to a laptop , e-notebook or even occasionally straight on to my Blackberry. But I do carry round paper notebooks like the one shown here so that I can take notes on particularly significant wines at social. More...