First of all, I’ve always found it a little preposterous that there could be hard and fast rules for drinking any beverage, even one taken as seriously as wine or whisky. The name of this website would suggest a higher level of pretense to this subject; would a Gentleman sip Chateau Petrus over ice through a straw? I have a bit of a libertarian whisper in my ear saying,” if you can afford it, do whatever you want with it.” The point of these guides has always been to provide …

If there is one wine out there which harkens to an earlier age, a wine truly steeped in tradition, it would have to be the classic wine style of Rioja. One taste of these wines will delight your taste buds in a way that could only be described as timeless; the alluring silkiness, the mysterious spice, the desire for one more sip. While the wines that belong to this old school are definitely receiving lots of new attention as wine drinkers turn away from the overblown styles prevalent not only …

As much as we love to label Fruit Cake as the red-headed stepchild of Christmas, when it’s done right it can harken us back to an era of simpler holiday traditions, when spices themselves were a luxury. It is a dessert that reminds us more of shared family times than of overbearing gluttony. Despite being a dessert, it is in truth a simple peasant food that is far from luxury and decadence. Obviously there is plenty of bad fruit cake out there. But in some way shape or form it …

Of the many traditions held dear and near around the Holidays, we all share at least one: Christmas Desserts. Whether the simple sugar cookie, or a more elaborate fruit cake, there is some sort of traditional Christmas sweet we all have grown up with and is essential for our winter festivities. Along with our spike in the intake of baked goods is an inevitable spike in the drinking of dessert wine. Chances are your local shop has already stocked up on Port, Sauternes, and Icewines, among others. We simply don’t drink …

Hearty foods and hearty wines are the name of the game over the next few months, and a chowder recipe should be in the back pocket of every aspiring gentleman. I love this recipe because of the simplicity of the method, which basically involves using 2 pots in tandem to arrive at a rich, delicious chowder. 1 pot I use to combine the meat ingredients, while the other I use for the vegetable-based ingredients. At the end they come together. Start with some of the basics on your shopping list …

Would you drink wine solely because you thought it gave you a health benefit? Science seems to be behind the wine industry, exalting the phenolics and other natural compounds present in wine. Heart disease prevention would likely be the most common reason if you polled those who said yes to the first question. What about the romantic factor? The wool and boot clad vineyard worker clipping away shoots is probably the enduring image that wine has in our society, not unlike coffee and Juan Valdez. I’ve even heard the assertion that we …