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Research and Resilience at High Altitude

Dr. Laura Catena

What one Argentine winery is doing to combat climate change. Climate change is everywhere, according to Dr. Laura Catena, and tackling these problems is a race, “We need to look at life at all levels, using science to preserve nature and culture, and we don’t have much time.” I recently had the opportunity to talk […]

Tokaj’s New Golden Age

Mád Village

How a quiet revolution in Mád will change the way think about Tokaji. To visit Tokaj is to pull back the curtain on an extraordinary place, an ancient place that, at first glance, appears frozen in time even as the region embraces change. Storybook houses cluster together, defining this village from that; only the town […]

White before Red: An Interview with Winemaker Giuseppe Franceschini

Tony Hartl & Giuseppe Franceschini

Born in Padua, winemaker Giuseppe Franceschini likes to think of himself as a gypsy. He studied enology at the University of Udine, following graduation, his wanderlust and curiosity led him to Veneto, Friuli, Sicily, Mendoza and most recently, Slovenia. From these experiences, Giuseppe absorbed a lifetime of regional winemaking styles, each with unique challenges and […]

The Wine of Kings Has a New Successor

King's Vineyard, Tokaj

Why Dry Furmint will be the Next Big Thing   This problem is one that the region’s vintners are acutely aware of, and, perhaps for the first time in decades, Tokaj is ready to reinvent itself. István Szepsy Sr., the region’s most acclaimed winemaker, has seen tremendous upheaval during his lifetime. His son, István Szepsy […]

Millésima 2016 Wine Blog Awards

Bordeaux

Last Tuesday I received notification that I’d been selected as a finalist in Millésima’s prestigious Wine Blog Awards—a huge honor, since this is the first time I’ve entered my writing into any sort of competition. I’m also incredibly flattered to have been chosen, because the other finalists are writers I’ve long admired, including Pamela Heiligenthal’s […]

#WBC15 and Alsatian Riesling’s Delicious Diversity

#WBC15

There is something about attending one’s first Wine Blogger’s Conference, aside from the instant camaraderie—that irreplaceable sense that you are in a room full of people who get what it is that you are doing, or attempting to do on a very deep level—in addition, there are a multitude of sessions for attendees to choose from. […]

Finger Lakes Riesling: A Portrait in Minerality

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard

Mid-August marked my first trip to New York, I arrived a day ahead of the Wine Bloggers Conference, granting myself time to acclimate to balmy Upstate New York and perhaps more importantly, time to do a bit of exploring. My friend and fellow wine writer, Thomas Riley was in town ahead of schedule too, and the […]

The Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

August 11th marked my first trip “back east,” for me that was technically any place east of western Montana. And while my entire reason for being there, in balmy Upstate New York was to attend the 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference, the artist in me thought it worthwhile to pay tribute to the Museum. Conference attendees streamed […]

Monopole Champagne & Wine Bar

Monopole Champagne & Wine Bar

Apparently, the food scene, like the wine scene, has materialized at a breakneck pace, with phenomenal restaurants springing up across the island like daisies. Some rigidly traditional—like the Japanese restaurant, Seryna in the heart of Makati’s Little Tokyo where I sampled the best Unagi I’ve ever tasted—and others a little more avant-garde. The streets surrounding Makati, and […]

Art of the Macaron: Cooking Classes at Aubergine

Pastry Chef Ron Mendoza at Aubergine

It’s small. That was my first thought on entering the tidy, well-lit kitchen at Aubergine. I had attended an eight-course dinner there the month before, a sumptuous and innovative menu featuring white and black Alba truffles, expertly woven into each luxurious course. I knew what sort of magic could come from the belly of this modest […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com