Chapoutier, one of the oldest names in the Rhone valley. Founded in 1808 by the Calvet family. It was sold to the Chapoutier family in 1855. The Calvet family sold the company to focus on their large, expanding negociant firm in Bordeaux. Polydore Chapoutier was the first of the Chapoutier family to head the company, and the only head of the firm not to have a name that started with the letter M. That tradition began with the next generation, started by Marius Chapoutier.

Continue reading M Chapoutier Ermitage →

Dubbed ‘the Sassicaia of the South’ by Robert Parker in 1995.

Montevetrano – made from a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside local grape variety Aglianico, has gained a cult following. It’s not hard to see why the estate is so frequently likened to Italian legend Sassicaia.

Continue reading Montevetrano “the Sassicaia of the South” →

Bond Estate showcased their portfolio’s consistently stunning quality and made their unique qualities easy to appreciate.

2017 marks the unofficial 20th anniversary of Bill Harlan’s Bond project, which the Bond website describes as “A portfolio of wines that are diverse in their geographic representation and ‘grand cru’ in quality, all under the umbrella of one philosophy, one team, one mark.” Like Harlan Estate and its owner’s more recent Promontory endeavor, the Bond project grew slowly and organically.

Continue reading Bond Estate →

Burgundy is one of the most romanticized wine regions in the world.
The historic stretch of land traces its winemaking roots back more than 2,000 years, and is ground zero for some of the most coveted (and expensive) producers like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Henri Jayer, and Domaine Armand Rousseau.

Continue reading Burgundy Wine →

Sake is an incredibly unique, enigmatic, and versatile beverage that can compliment food just as wonderfully as wine.

Mentioning “sake”, most of us will picture our imaginations together with the old Kyoto architectures, ladies in kimono, the fresh and delicious sashimi, with the scents of woods, rice-made alcohols. Surprisingly, they can go very well with local delights, evoking great deals of mouth-watering sensations that we have never been trying or imagining it! Can’t wait to KANBAI the shot of the well-chilled sake with the irresistible sumptuous feast:

Continue reading Pairing traditional sake with non-traditional delights →

Bordeaux’s second growths—traditionally a haven for Bordeaux drinkers who are wary of first-growth prices.

To give you an idea of the variances in price between the First Growths and Second Growth Bordeaux at the time, First Growth Bordeaux wine was trading for more than 3,000 French Francs per barrel. While Second Growth Bordeaux wine was selling for an average of 2,500 and 2700 French Francs per barrel. If only the spread was that close today!

Continue reading Bordeaux Second Growth →

Pauillac is the home of Cabernet Sauvignon based wines, with elements of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot.

Pauillac has been hailed as a legendary AOC having 3 Premier Crus (First Growths) out of the 5 in Bordeaux namely Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild. Other than that, there are 15 other Grand Crus Classes within its boundaries.

Read More

Lynch Bages,

Having a long history in Bordeaux takes its name from the local area where the chateau is located in Bages.
The vineyard of what was to become Lynch Bages was established and then expanded by the Dejean family who sold it in 1728 to Pierre Drouillard. In 1749, Drouillard bequeathed the estate to his daughter, Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Lynch. This is how the estate came to belong to the Lynch family, where it remained for seventy-five years and inspired the name Lynch Bages. However, it was not always known under that name.

Read More

As one of Italy’s most famous wines Sassicaia was first available on the commercial market in 1968. Since the very first bottle was sold back then today almost forty years later the wine stands today as Italy’s testament to the world of its ability to produce fine wine.

To understand what that means, it’s worth heading back to the Italian wine scene in 1968, the inaugural vintage of what was to become the first, and is still arguably the best known, Super Tuscan. Most Italian wine at that time was either consumed locally or shipped off in bulk to the rest of Europe where it was blended with weedier examples that needed some beefing up.

Read More

It is the only brewery in Japan to adopt the most luxurious and meticulous brewing method.
Producing only one tank per week and only the highest class of sake.

The name Katsuyama literally means “Mt. Victoria.” The word katsu means victory, or outstanding excellence, while yama (mountain) indicates greatness, or a large immovable presence, making it a highly auspicious name.

Established in 1688, Katsuyama is a sake brewery with a tradition of well over three centuries. It was created to brew the top-class sake enjoyed exclusively by the feudal lords of the Sendai Domain, founded by Japan’s most famous military commander and respected samurai, Date Masamune, and one of the three major fiefdoms of the era.
To this day, Katsuyama carries on the reputation and tradition of its origins as a brewery for the lords. Brewing only junmai-shu,the true mainstream sake, it is also the pioneer in creating sake with clean umami that goes well with any cuisine, a trend that is starting to take hold in the world of sake.

Read More