Category Archives: Wine

An Alsatian April Fools’ (for the Wine Media Guild)

Posted on April 3, 2015 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews At the Wine Media Guild’s (WMG) recent lunch on April 1, 2015 at Felidia, there was no fooling around: the theme was Alsace, featuring the aromatic, earthy and food-friendly white varietal wines it produces so well — … Continue reading →

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Bordeaux Grand Cru “Blizzard” Hits New York

Posted on February 17, 2015 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews Monday, January 26, 2015 was the Blizzard That Wasn’t in New York City. While it certainly snowed, and slowed the City down, it was, mercifully, far from the Snowpocalypse breathlessly predicted by media outlets. January 26 was … Continue reading →

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Biodynamic Syrah, Naturally (from Chateau Maris)

Posted on January 27, 2015 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews Before going to our friends’ house for a Boxing Day gathering during the holidays, I stopped by Sipperly’s, our local wine shop upstate, for a gift bottle of wine. As I’ve mentioned before, the store’s layout is chaotic, … Continue reading →

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New Zealand Value: Mud House Wines

Posted on December 15, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews When considering “value wines” for holiday imbibing — highly drinkable wines with attractive price/quality ratios — New Zealand (NZ), especially its copious, often palate-rocking Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs (SB), deserves to be in the discussion. About the size of California, … Continue reading →

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2014 Hudson Valley Wine & Spirits Competition: Millbrook, Clinton Vineyards Stand Out

Posted on September 8, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews For the third year in a row, Millbrook Vineyard and Winery, the Hudson Valley’s perennial wine flagship, won the Hudson Valley Winery of the Year award at the 2014 Hudson Valley Wine and Spirits Competition. But it … Continue reading →

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The Official Wine of the NY Yankees…

Posted on May 23, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews Love them or hate them, the New York Yankees are one of the world’s most successful and iconic sports franchises. And now they have an official wine, too, one that reflects world-class taste AND aptly represents a home state, signature … Continue reading →

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Got Glögg? Hudson Valley has Hetta

Posted on March 31, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews In the early part of this Interminable Winter of 2014, I received a fitting assignment for the season from Edible Hudson Valley: to write a piece on Hetta Glögg, a bottled mulled wine in the Nordic tradition, produced in … Continue reading →

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Mountain Wines from Napa and Sonoma

Posted on March 10, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews Bacchus amat colles — Bacchus loves the hills. This piece of wisdom comes from antiquity, when the ancient Greeks, then Romans, figured out that hillside vineyards, despite greater degrees of difficulty (challenging topography, labor intensity, erosion, etc.), often produce more compelling wines. … Continue reading →

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Chinese Chili for the Year of the Horse

Posted on February 12, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews Chinese New Year is something we observe by way of a home-cooked Chinese meal, now guided by Kathryn’s “clean Chinese” adaptations of some of her family’s favorite recipes, like her mother’s roast pork (Char Siu), her father’s Sichuanese “strange taste chicken” … Continue reading →

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Bargain German Pinot Gris: Villa Wolf

Posted on January 23, 2014 by upstatedowntown

By Christopher Matthews I’m always looking for quality, inexpensive wines…with some character (which is the tricky part). And, truthfully, I have found quite a few such bargains at Sipperley’s Grog Shop, a somewhat disorganized, but bustling shop in the center … Continue reading →

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