Jonathan Maltus, producer of cult St.-Emilion Grand Cru Le Dome, released his inaugural 2008 Napa Valley wines last week under the brand name “World’s End,” an homage to the American wine lover. The red wines range from exclusive single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon wines from Oakville to regional Napa Valley wines.
Making Napa Valley wines was a natural move for Maltus, who was born to be a man of the world. Although English by citizenship, he comes from a family of expatriates going back to the …

Had the chance to see Stephane Derenoncourt Friday night at Sweetie’s in San Francisco’s North Beach district.  The place was so Derenoncourt.  It’s a neighborhood bar in a residential area just south of Bay Street, where the counter is already packed on a Friday evening and patrons look up immediately when someone walks in to see if its a chum.  I strolled past the pool table and through the doors that said “no entry” and inside was a spacious room and garden beyond, with stylish guests already mingling around a table of Derenoncourt’s 07 Napa …

If you are travelling to Bordeaux, you probably love food and wine.  Some of the specialties of Bordeaux given its proximity to water are duck, foie gras and lamprey eel and you will find some of the best entrecote (beef) dishes anywhere.  Lest you think Bordeaux is all about heavy food, don’t worry, there is also a good choice of seafood such as salmon, sole, cod, sea bream, oysters and shrimp.  There is a great balance of foods and restaurants to choose from and plenty of wines to pair
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La Brasserie Bordelaise at 50 Rue Saint Remi serves …

Wine tourism is important in developing brand awareness for a wine region and its producers’ wines.  It also generates a lot of revenue.  Napa Valley drew about 3.5 million tourists in 2006 who spent a little over $700 million on hotels, restaurants and other leisure- and wine- related activities.  In many wine regions around the world, wineries open up their doors to hospitality including tours and various seminars on blending, wine tasting and food/cheese and wine pairing.  Bordeaux – not so much.  However, this is rapidly changing as Bordeaux competes with the New World.
In …