Gourmet-Alcohol

When it comes to Chardonnay , people either seem to be die-hard fans or staunch supporters of the Anything-But-Chardonnay movement. No matter which side you fall on, you can’t deny this grape’s popularity. After all, it’s one of the most widely-planted varieties in the world.  For what it’s worth: we think Chardonnay is well worth your while.  “I think it is the most misunderstood varietal on the planet,” says Tonya Pitts , the wine director at the San Francisco restaurant One Market and a Wine Enthusiast writer-at-large who reviews wines from California, among other regions in the United States. “Wine drinkers often say, ‘I don’t like or drink Chardonnay.’ My rebuttal is, ‘You haven’t tasted one you like yet.’” This grape can produce wines that run the gamut from tropical and fruity to flinty and earthy on the palate. It’s also somewhat of a shapeshifter. Chardonnay can lend itself well to oak aging , resulting in wines that display vanilla and toasted tones. And if the ...

The pandemic brought a newfound appreciation for gathering at home—prompting a full-on dinner party renaissance. During lockdown, novices began cooking more than ever before. And what at first was a shared frustration with being “stuck” inside transformed into a post-pandemic celebration of more intimate, relaxed experiences at home. Plus, if you’re paying rent, you might as well get your money’s worth. This sentiment led Katherine Lewin to open Big Night , a one-stop shop for anything and everything useful for hosting in New York City, in 2021. Her mission: to alleviate traditional pressures around entertaining and empower people to entertain at home. “I wanted to create a space that said you don’t have to be perfect,” says Lewin. “You don’t even really have to know how to cook. You can put out a beautiful piece of cheese and some crackers and some nuts on a beautiful platter and suddenly there’s a vibe there.” Lewin believes anyone can be a great host and any night could be a “...

My memories of Brooklyn cocktail programs in the early 2000s are a blur of mustachioed men in leather-strapped aprons and bow-ties, tapping their bitters out like a lab technician as they murmur words like “orgeat” and “creme de violette.” Cocktails at that level can be a gravely serious business, but luckily, every December, we can rejoice in the antithesis: the big, bombastic utter absurdity that is the winter holiday bar. For Sother Teague, owner of Amor y Amargo , a bitters-focused bar in New York’s East Village that hosts an annual holiday pop-up, these settings offer a break from business as usual and a bonding moment in a tough city. “Year-round we do this serious thing, but the point of holiday bars is taking the piss out of yourself,” he says. “It’s an opportunity for us all to step out of our own lives, take a break and relax and join with other people at bars, which are places of community .” Whether a pop-up or, in rarer cases, a permanent year-round fixture, these holi...

Italy’s red wines are among the most coveted bottles around the world, with top Barolos and Super Tuscans fetching hundreds (and even thousands) of dollars. If you’re able to drink like a king, congratulations; however, wine fans don’t need to have a regal budget to taste some of the best bottles that are available today. “The best thing about Italian wine is that it’s not just a category that offers good deals, it’s a category where you know you’re always getting a good deal—at any price point,” says Danielle Callegari, a Wine Enthusiast writer-at-large who reviews wines from Tuscany and Southern Italy. “The quality of Italian wine is high across the board, so even when you’re not in the mood to spend, you can be sure that if you reach for Italian you’re getting wine that outperforms expectations every time.” What that means is, it’s it’s good time to reach for affordable bottles.  On this year’s Best Buys list —Wine Enthusiast’s annual compendium of the top wines for unde...