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Brancaia: The Best of Both Worlds

2013 Brancaia Maremma Toscana Ilatraia

Like so many New World winemakers, Barbara Widmer’s childhood landscape wasn’t shaped by a life amongst the vines. Her parent’s journey into winemaking began, more or less, as a hobby that stemmed from the purchase of an abandoned hillside Castellina named Brancaia. “I grew up in Zurich; I had no ambition or dream to move […]

Cultivating Self-Sufficiency in Jackson Hole

Vertical Harvest

An interview with architect Nona Yehia of Vertical Harvest Jackson Wyoming is best known for its upscale resorts and breathtaking Teton mountain backdrop. It’s a city that averages 38 feet of snowfall annually, with a short four-month growing season. A playground for skiers and outdoor enthusiasts it may be, for gardeners not so much. Thanks […]

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 […]

Oregon’s Enduring Spirit of Collaboration

Ponzi Vineyards

Robed in luxurious, perpetual green, Oregon’s largest AVA is home to more than 270 wineries and over 1,000 vineyards. It’s a region that has enjoyed marked growth over the past few decades thanks, in part, to a handful of families that arrived in the late 1960s with little more than determination and vision. “My father […]

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