A Rhone-style blend from South Australia: Marsanne , Roussanne and a dash of Viognier. Aromas of fresh pear, ginger and almond, followed by mineral and melon on the palate. Medium bodied with a zesty acidity makes this a fun and easy bottle. It...

Featuring Collin Flatt, Editor of Philly Eater   This month’s Sommelier Smackdown  features a rising star in Philly, Collin Flatt. A wanton glutton, he has the stink of bravado, and more than a  whiff of semi-sweet depravity; Collin...

Loving the world of cheap beer is like being strapped to a lump of trash circling a comet orbiting a distant moon: your passion isn’t going to matter much to anyone. Only when you break free of gravity will anyone notice. Crazy as that is,...

All Hail the Dark Lord. Now Available on EBay. Would you wait in line for hours for the chance to buy four bottles of beer? Would you pay hundreds of dollars for a single bottle of beer? If you want a bottle of Dark Lord, those are your two...

After penning a treatise on the merits of local beer, I found myself torn over buying a Kona Brewing Company product. Though they are US-based, of course, Kona, HI, is further from Philadelphia than Brussels, Dublin or even Prague, so all the same...

Here is one for the Pinot geeks of the world.    Located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, Five Mountain is one of the original Willamette Valley vineyards, dating back to 1978 and planted to early Pommard clones. Dark cherry, cola, and tar...

David Cross is one of the smartest guys in comedy right now. We have loved him since he played  Tobias Fünke  on cult favorite tv show Arrested Development. This piece on Coors Light is both hilarious and NSFW.  

The winemaker, Paul Hobbs, is one of the great masters of Cabernet Sauvignon, and his eponymously named wine is consistently one of the finest, vintage in and vintage out. It’s also one of the most sought-after Napa Valley wines, with a...

Crimson and dense, this Carmenere is one of the best examples of the varietal on the market. It offers up plenty of oak-influenced flavors, including chocolate, coffee, and liquorice.  Toasted spices and cracked black pepper add great interest to...

Those effing 15th century farmers in Germany. They effed up the rye harvest a few years in a row, and forever changed the face of beer brewing. Since then, barley malt has been the dominant malt in beer. Fortunately, that seems to be ending in the...

Andrew Will Winery offers up a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and  Malbec from this estate vineyard in Washington’s Yakima Valley. A remarkably complex offering, this wine offers a myriad of...

I love pilsners. I love imperial beers. They are the ying and yang of my beer drinking existence, just as Family Guy and Breaking Bad are the opposing forces of  my TV addiction. As Stewie Griffin  should never ever join forces with Walter...

Inspired by memories of the onset of Spring (and eternal hope, of course) at Shibe Park – which was located on Lehigh Ave.  – Philadelphia Brewing Co.’s Fleur de Lehigh is a unique local choice for warm weather drinking. The...

Rising from twin pads of blackberry and oak, this is a drunken philanthropist of a wine. It holds nothing back, offering up a wealth of jam, coconut, sweet cream, and vanilla.  There is nothing subtle or classic or intellectual about this...

An attack of citrus and floral, with a malt and earth undertone. The beer offers a lovely midpalate of cream and hay, followed by a balance of caramel and sweet pine. A round body with a creamy finish dipping into a pleasantly hopped bitterness. H

Pink was the color of  both fallen samurai in ancient Japan and American gangsters of the 1920′s .  Now, Pink is “My Lil’ Pony” and Kindergarten birthday parties.  That is a crying shame; too many people...

Cabernet Franc doesn’t get much play on the American wine market. Wines from the Loire Valley in France are also not very popular, either. Combine them together and you get… Chinon. It’s a shame that no-one in America drinks the...