Why You Should Get Excited About Anise Spirits

Here’s our cheat sheet to a formerly forbidding spirit that, in 2021, is easy to drink and easy to understand.

The European tradition of serving a herbaceous, botanical-influenced drink before or after a meal (as an aperitif or digestif) has gained gr…

Here’s our cheat sheet to a formerly forbidding spirit that, in 2021, is easy to drink and easy to understand.

The European tradition of serving a herbaceous, botanical-influenced drink before or after a meal (as an aperitif or digestif) has gained ground in America over the past few years thanks to the surge in popularity of amaro, the bittersweet Italian liqueur. For many of us this is a whole new category of beverage, sips that can be lead-ins to wine with dinner or provide a last energy surge for the night.

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The Best White Wine to Drink Right Now

As we move into fall, it’s hard to say goodbye to the crisp, light-bodied whites in condensation-frosted glasses, or the sharp and grassy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, or the Sancerres with their notes of citrus and minerality, a perfect match for seaf…

As we move into fall, it’s hard to say goodbye to the crisp, light-bodied whites in condensation-frosted glasses, or the sharp and grassy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, or the Sancerres with their notes of citrus and minerality, a perfect match for seafood. For such moments, there’s Bordeaux Blanc, or White Bordeaux, a wine-insider’s secret that bridges the seasons, because it’s most often a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (crispness, summer) and a grape called Sémillon, which has more richness and mouthfeel (coziness, fall).

Bordeaux, to most anyone, including wine people, is red, a high-end blend that can include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, and it tends to come at collector’s prices. Bordeaux Blanc, made from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and sometimes Muscadelle, is lesser-known because it makes up only 7 to 8 percent of the region’s output. However, savvy buyers, including many restaurant professionals, choose Bourdeaux Blanc because it’s usually available at a lower price than the reds from Bordeaux, allowing for a taste of a storied region at a good value. It’s also on the forward edge of a trend: Blends are the second-biggest category in red wine sales at the moment—a juggernaut that some would say has been inspired by the skill of the Bordelais in blending their reds—and industry professionals expect white blends to be next. White blends from the master blenders in Bordeaux, then, are ahead of the curve, and are newly sought-after.

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Domestic Sparkling Wines to Clink-Clink in the New Year

Fizzy wine has undergone a transformation of late. It’s becoming more popular and being made in new ways. Plus, such bottles are more often popped outside the confines of the “celebrations” that traditionally call for sparkling wine (specifically Champ…

Fizzy wine has undergone a transformation of late. It’s becoming more popular and being made in new ways. Plus, such bottles are more often popped outside the confines of the “celebrations” that traditionally call for sparkling wine (specifically Champagne).

And while we would never write off proper French Champagne (in fact, one of us aged spirits correspondents celebrated a milestone birthday last week with a bottle of Moussé Fils Blanc de Noirs, which has taste and refinement a person can only ever hope to have), another sparkling wine we’ve loved lately was not so formal: a bubbly rosé from Lieb Cellars. Barely blush in color, tasting of stone fruit and mushrooms, it couldn’t have been more different than Champagne. Unexpected, crisp, subtle, and truly special, it would’ve been just as welcome at a celebration dinner as it was to day-drink on a pleasant afternoon.

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Why Box Wine Is Your Best Bet This Thanksgiving (& Beyond)

Box wine is sometimes jokingly referred to as “Cardbordeaux,” thought of as a college party drink we wouldn’t serve on a sophisticated table. But we’re here to tell you that times, they are a-changin’. The newer, upscale boxes from smaller domestic pro…

Box wine is sometimes jokingly referred to as “Cardbordeaux,” thought of as a college party drink we wouldn’t serve on a sophisticated table. But we’re here to tell you that times, they are a-changin'. The newer, upscale boxes from smaller domestic producers or cult European importers are a maybe-overlooked, actually optimal choice for this year’s meal—once opened, they store up to a month in the refrigerator.

In Europe, “bag in a box” wines are a growth segment, popular because they’re sustainable—less packaging, less fuel burned in transportation, smaller carbon footprint—and low-cost, usually coming in at $20 to $40 for four-bottles-worth of volume. Here, they can be an insider trick; one of the biggest markets in the U.S. for this wine are chefs in higher-end kitchens who “want wine that is of a higher quality to use in cooking, and stays fresh longer,” says Camilo Ceballos, wine director of New York–based wine importer Omni Wines.

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How Long Does That Open Bottle of Wine Last, Really?

This article is a part of Wine Week—seven days celebrating all things wine—presented in partnership by our friends at Bread & Butter Wines.

Internet memes may tell you “there’s no such thing as leftover wine”—a joke about drinking that misses th…

This article is a part of Wine Week—seven days celebrating all things wine—presented in partnership by our friends at Bread & Butter Wines.


Internet memes may tell you “there’s no such thing as leftover wine”—a joke about drinking that misses the point that, very often in daily life, we might not finish an open bottle. If we do have leftovers, the conventional wisdom is that the clock is ticking, since wine is best the same day it’s opened, or should be consumed by the next day at most. This is frustrating, though, if you don’t want to drink that opened wine the very next day or if you don’t have the chance, especially when the leftovers are of a great quality. And pouring “old” wine out feels like a waste. Many of us will ask under these circumstances, But how bad can it be? Understanding how long an open bottle of wine lasts is key to making the most of every last drop—before it turns into vinegar.

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How to Pick a Wine You’ll Actually Like

This article is a part of Wine Week—seven days celebrating all things wine—presented in partnership by our friends at Bread & Butter Wines.

Many people enjoy drinking wine without knowing what they like about the taste. These may be wine drinker…

This article is a part of Wine Week—seven days celebrating all things wine—presented in partnership by our friends at Bread & Butter Wines.


Many people enjoy drinking wine without knowing what they like about the taste. These may be wine drinkers but not self-proclaimed “wine people,” who may not have immersed themselves in the details of grape varietals and growing regions. They may—or may not!—know what they like, but they don’t understand why one particular wine hits their sweet spot or know how to put what they liked into words.

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How to Buy Wine in the Coronavirus Era

Keeping wine and spirits stores open during a public health crisis might seem like a punchline, but so far they have been deemed “essential.” People are stocking up to hunker down; they’re also turning to wine for its normalcy.

To share a glass is a m…

Keeping wine and spirits stores open during a public health crisis might seem like a punchline, but so far they have been deemed “essential.” People are stocking up to hunker down; they’re also turning to wine for its normalcy.

To share a glass is a most human endeavor, even when we’re sharing remotely. There’s some evidence, too, that people are buying more varied and adventurous bottles right now, perhaps learning more about wine—like baking bread, reading Tolstoy, and finally decluttering the home, things we’d always intended to do if we had more time.

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