All posts by Stephen Meuse

Every trend has its own secret history, beginning when it’s still too small to be noticed and ending when its momentum is spent and energetic new trends overtake and supplant it. Between these points trends live a useful life – but what exactly is a trend good for and why are we so intent on spotting them?…

Trendspotting is a game we all like to play, and if you’ve been in the news business you’d better be good at it. I’m not anymore (in the news business, I mean) but I like to think that I can still tell when the blip on the radar screen of contemporary wine culture is an…

Like the fashion world it mimics, the world of wine likes to move a little faster than most of us can comfortably keep up with, thus the need for the occasional touch-up and top-up of our wine vocabulary. What follows are five terms you really ought to be familiar with even if you don’t plan…

Today, it’s common for people choose wines the same way they choose movies: by consulting what they consider to be expert opinion. While it takes the two thumbs of a film critic held way, way up to fill seats at the local cineplex, it takes a score of 90 points or better to generate real enthusiasm…

First, plant a chardonnay vine in the commune of Puligny-Montrachet in the French region of Burgundy. Now quickly plant another genetically identical to it in Santa Barbara County, California. Prune and train them similarly and when they’re of age make wine and mature it, using identical techniques, from the fruit of each.  Now taste them…

The Georgians – and here I refer to those denizens of the Caucasus Mountains rather than the inhabitants of the sprawling suburbs of Atlanta — claim to be on vintage no. 8000, or thereabouts. If true, their boast sets the origin of wine culture deep into the era we call the neolithic and makes wine older than…

It seems laughable now, but in European theaters it was once common practice for the impresario to hire applauders for opening night. Claques, as they were called, were brought in to give it up enthusiastically for the playwright and cast at the end of the debut performance with a view to ensuring a long run. I…

An 18th century French prime minister once described the proper way to engage with wine this way: First one looks at the wine, then one smells the wine, then one talks about the wine. Whether he may have advanced so far as to actually taste the wine is not known, but there’s nothing to beat this oft-quoted…

The chattering classes of the the food and wine world find plenty to argue about, but I think its safe to say that there is today near-universal agreement on one point: we all want to know where the things we eat and drink come from, how they were made, and by whom. Indeed, it’s our…

First-time visitors to Central Bottle in Cambridge, Massachusetts are generally charmed by its appealing design and handsome, understated  furnishings. I can tell you it’s a pleasure to spend a workday in its light, cheerful space. The near-absence of signage leaves some shoppers a little disoriented, though. “How are the wines organized here?” is a frequent…

Proportion and scale are important in wine, particularly when it comes to matching food and wine at the table.  A powerful dish will overwhelm a slender wine, no matter how elegant, and vice versa. It works that way in the sales chain, too.  It’s hardly ever the case that a large, well-capitalized wholesaler will willingly…

The benefits of preparation are pretty well-established by now, wouldn’t you say?  It’s why you read all the directions before assembling your IKEA bookshelf, and why you do a mise en place (peel, chop, slice and measure all ingredients) before you begin to cook.  Take a similarly thoughtful approach to buying wine in the new…