Recent content by William Piper

I had the pleasure of working with Christine, the proprietor, and can definitely vouch for her reliability. She is the consummate professional, and I have seen her drop off bottles to friends by hand in NYC. The shop itself is small but well-curated with lutte raisonee and 'correct' natural...

I can only assume that this is in reference to Terroir (SF) rather than NYC - while we are blatent self-promoters, this isn't our style.

A sad day for the wine world, for sure. His wines were among the first to show me the beauty of Beaujolais, and combined a conviviality, purity and seriousness in an seemingly impossible way. I have never met Marcel, nor have I visited Beaujolais, but to meet him and get insight on his wines...

Levi, I am definitely in, just by my lonesome, if it's not too late.

Levi, thanks for the insight. I'm looking at putting together a little birthday party for myself - they have a private room next to the cellar for 16, and after rattling off who I'd like to bring, I think we hit that pretty readily. Quite a few Chambers people for sure. Instead of ala carte...

Does anyone have experience with this restaurant, in Chappaqua, NY? I was recently talking to a Westchester wine shop owner about Blue Hill at Stone Barnes, and how much I enjoy the Hudson Valley in Fall - he asked if I had been to the Kittle House. When I replied that I had not, he said that...

My pal Emily (ex-Marlow and Sons, ex-Boqueria), no? She brought samples around for me to taste - this must have been over a year ago... She's been working on some type of coffee soda with Brooklyn Roasting Company, last I heard. Wish you nothing but luck, brother.

I have Scott - a friend of mine was helping Tom test out the recipe and promote it. I remember it being pretty flavorful, and not one note like cheap tonic. I guess it's along the lines of like a Q Tonic or Fever Tree, but a little less slick. I think that they were working on a dry root beer...

This bores me to tears. If Queens, Brooklyn, or the Bronx were to fall off into the sea, Manhattan would be a terribly boring place. Where do you think people live? Any talk of "real New Yorkers", is usually perpetrated by zealots that have lived in a single borough their entire lives, or...

I used to work for and remain a close friend of the importer of the Solar de Randez and all of the Bodegas Las Orcas wines. The fermentation for the '96 and '97 Riservas occurs in stone tanks cut in the rock foundation of Laguardia. Laguardia is in Rioja Alavesa, and is in the foothills of the...

Cote de Nuits, I'd guess.

Whale tongue was only OK, but fried whale tale (kujira-katsu) is some of the best street food I've had in my life. It tastes like aquatic fried brisket.

Passed on chicken sushi in Japan, but the horse sashimi (basashi) was phenomenal. It was served with ponzu sauce and leek.

I'm in the habit of checking out wine lists for restaurants and saving a copy (usually PDF) to compare prices, availability, etc. I was looking over Union Square Cafe's list and noticed that they are pretty deep into Quintarelli's wines, most notably his Cab Franc in the appassimento style -...

Nicely played. I don't know why I haven't used Amaro for Tom and Jerry's yet. I've been making them with cream sherry and dark rum. I've been experimenting with Cointreau, Grand Marnier and Liquor 43 (a Spanish vanilla liqueur, similar to Galliano), too. Hot drinks have been expanding my...