Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Jacqueline Strum EDITOR & PUBLISHER MANAGING EDITOR, PRINT John Capone TASTING DIRECTOR Anna-Christina Cabrales CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marco Turelli EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR, DIGITAL Rachel Tepper Paley SENIOR EDITOR, PRINT Stacy Briscoe DIGITAL EDITOR Kristen Richard ASSISTANT EDITOR, PRINT Jacy Topps CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, FOOD Nils Bernstein WEB PRODUCER Samantha Sette DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Monica Simon DIGITAL VISUALS EDITOR Evan de Normandie DIGITAL DESIGNER Eric DeFreitas VISUALS PRODUCER Jesse Reiter ASSOCIATE PHOTO PRODUCER Tom Arena TASTING SENIOR EDITOR, TASTING Jim Gordon SENIOR TASTING COORDINATOR Craig Chamberlain ASSISTANT TASTING COORDINATOR Cody Wexler ASSISTANT TASTING COORDINATOR Russell Peborde SOCIAL DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA Elyse Estrella SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST Marco Bruno VIDEO SUPERVISING VIDEO PRODUCER Braxton Parr VIDEO PRODUCER Rob Martin WRITERS AT LARGE WINE Michael Alberty, Danielle Callegari, Mike DeSimone, Matt Kettmann, Christina Pickard, Jeff Porter, Emily Saladino, Layla Shlack, Jesica Vargas, Roger Voss, Aleks Zecevic SPIRITS Kara Newman BEER John Holl DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES Emily Matson ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sherrill Flaum ADVERTISING SENIOR WEST COAST ACCOUNT MANAGER Karen Hackett…

At the dawn of a new year, we take stock of what’s ahead. What can we do differently? What can we do more of? And perhaps most important—what can we do better? It allows us a quiet moment of hope, optimism and expectation. In my family, we love the classic act of making a list of resolutions. The thinking is even if you do only one item on your list, you’ll make your life incrementally better over the long yawn of a decade or two. A list of resolutions in the universe of wine may mean something very different depending on who you ask. It could be trying the most sought-after vintages on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. Or finally visiting some of those far-flung regions that make our favorite juice.…

VENETIAN CICCHETTI AND PINOT GRIGIO Wine Enthusiast and the Consorzio Vini DOC delle Venezie hosted an aperitivo at Bar Cicchetti that showcased Pinot Grigio delle Venezie wines. The evening was filled with live music, a tour of Pinot Grigio from Venice, a grand spread inspired by Italy and an interactive history lesson on cicchetti. RESIDENT DINNER WITH CENTRE-LOIRE Resident and Wine Enthusiast partnered to host a lively penthouse dinner at Club 75 in Rockefeller Plaza. Guests enjoyed wines from Centre-Loire and learned about the unique personality of the 10 appellations making up this special region of France. Wine pairings were selected and presented by Anna-Christina Cabrales and Jacy Topps to accompany a five-course tasting menu from Chef Sakari Smithwick. MASTER CLASS WITH PASQUA Wine Enthusiast hosted an intimate master class with Pasqua at the Rizzoli…

H2 Know Sure, fizz is fun, but it serves a functional role, too. “Carbonated water lengthens and acidifies drinks,” explains Camper English, author of Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails. “Plus, the bubbles help lift aromatics up out of the drink and tickle your nose.” However, not all carbonated water is alike. “I know it’s a little funny to wrap your brain around thinking about water as an ingredient, but it’s so important,” says Jena Ellenwood, cocktail educator at NYC bar Dear Irving. “Bubble size and stamina vary with each fizzy water.” And it can make a difference when added to other elements in a drink, like spirits and citrus. In addition, some can add sweet, salty or bitter flavors, so it’s important to know…

In 2012, if you’d seen Scott Beattie brandishing a chainsaw outside Napa’s Goose & Gander, you might have wondered if the barkeeper had lost his mind. But in his quest to serve clear ice in rocks cocktails at the bar, Beattie had acquired huge slabs of sculpture ice, which he then cut down to blocks with a chainsaw. Very carefully. Then, bartenders would hand chop these into double-rocks size for each drink behind the bar. The company he bought the ice from has adapted to bars’ demands over the past decade and now delivers its ice in more manageable three-inch blocks. “Which is great, you know, because we had a very safe way of chainsawing the ice down, but it’s still a chainsaw,” Beattie says. Block ice like this is frozen…

“At Yacht Club, we have a major love affair with wine of all sorts,” says McLain Hedges, co-owner of the playful Denver bar. “Many, if not all, of our drinks contain some form of wine base to them.” That includes a rotating list of shaved-ice sno-balls enlivened with fortified wine—a whimsical mash-up of the classic Cobbler, a fortified wine standard served over crushed ice and the nostalgic sno-cone. Iterations have included raisin-y PX Sherry and bittersweet amer liqueur. This version centers Macvin du Jura, a blend of grape juice and must fortified with marc (distilled from grape skins and lees—akin to grappa) from Jura, then barrel-aged for at least 14 months, with a final flavor some liken to brandy. “The result is one of the most aromatic and textural experiences you’ll come…