This title needs explaining.  Montepulciano is one of those incredibly confusing names in Italian wine that can be applied to a grape, village, and style of wine made by the eponymous village.  The village (in southern Tuscany) and style are Montepulciano and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, respectively.  This blog is not about those, even though they delicious in their own right.
No, this blog is about the grape Montepulciano, which I have become a big fan of over the years.  Perhaps it is because I imagine this grape to be the …

What’s your favorite thing about wine?  There are innumerable answers to that question but for me the clear winner is that wine presents endless opportunities for exploration.  Wine is fascinating because it is always changing, growing and being driven forward by adventurous growers and up and coming regions.  The last few decades have seen a remarkable expansion of the varietals, styles and regions available.  Just think, who would have ordered Malbec off a menu ten years ago?
The so-called New World of wine has been at the forefront of this expansion, …

This past Sunday needing a break from the constant rush that was restaurant week here in DC, I felt it would be nice to take a quick day trip to the serene and peaceful setting of Intercourse and Bird in Hand, PA.  I figured that this would be not only a fun little drive through farmlands and backcountry winding roads but it would also give me a chance to stop at some farm stands along the way.  The drive was amazing but I did have one slight miscalculation.  The miscalculation …

At the beginning of last week my wife, Jaime and I were deciding whether we should go to the eastern shore or possibly the jersey shore for the weekend.  During this discussion we received an airfare alert for a very reasonably priced ticket to Milwaukee.  I know what you’re thinking, unless I’m picking up a new Harley at the factory, which I wasn’t unfortunately, why go to Milwaukee?  First reason that’s where one of Jaime’s sisters lives and second, which was my true motive, is that Chicago is only about …

This past Sunday I set out on my weekly drive out of the city and headed to the shore just to walk on the beach.  About a half hour into the drive a large electronic bill board was flashing all lanes closed at exit 41.  As my luck would have it I need to get past exit 41 to in order to arrive at my final destination which was to be Lewes, Delaware.  On the positive side of that I was just outside of Annapolis and it was around 3 …