Wine of the Week: 2009 Antinori Family Estate Chardonnay 'Antica'

Beer of the Month: Unibroue Éphémère

When brewers play around with fruit flavorings, they generally go for loud ones like orange or apricot or some sort of berry, but the Quebec...

Beer of the Month: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales Oro de Calabaza

For some years, Jolly Pumpkin has been scouting around on the wilder edges of the Belgian ale repertoire without being curmudgeonly about...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis 'Vigne Sparse'

Arneis was a grape that was practically extinct when Alfredo Currado of Vietti and Bruno Giacosa brought it back from obscurity in the early...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico

Hankering for a Chianti? The 2009 from Fèlsina is a beautiful mouthful, everything you want in a Chianti Classico — an...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage 'Le Clos'

2009 Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage "Le Clos"

Wine of the Week: 2011 Red C Sauvignon Blanc 'Dry Creek Valley'

Need a bottle of kosher wine for the holidays? Look no further than this second vintage of Red C Sauvignon Blanc from Covenant Wines. Made...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Quinta do Crasto 'Old Vine Reserva'

A fascinating beauty fromPortugal'sDouro, the 2009 Quinta do Crasto reserve comes from old vines (average age 70) and 25 to 30 different...

Wine of the Week: 2008 Montepeloso Toscana Rosso 'Eneo'

When a special bottle of red is on the agenda, you can't go wrong with this ripe, sinewy Tuscan from the Montepeloso estate. A blend of...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Pazo de Señorans Albariño

Wine of the Week: 2010 Jack Hammer Pinot Noir

This is the first vintage for Jack Hammer Wine Co., and they've come out with a terrific Pinot Noir for the price. The grapes come from...

Beer of the Month: Sierra Nevada Brewing Northern Hemisphere Harvest Lager

It's a little hard to remember that Americans once merely tolerated hops. Sierra Nevada was one of the pioneers in teaching us to enjoy...

Beer of the Month: Stone Brewing Smoked Porter

Stone is known for major attitude — its flagship IPA is named Arrogant Bastard. So you'd expect something pretty hairy from its smoked...

Beer of the Month: Alesmith Brewing Wee Heavy

Alesmith makes this brew all year, but strong, malty ales of its sort really come into their own in cold weather. "Wee Heavy" is the...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Abbazia di Novacella 'Stiftskellerei Neustift'

Celestino Lucin, winemaker for Abbazia di Novacella, an abbey in Italy's Alto Adige region that dates to 1142, is renowned for his white...

Wine of the Week: 2006 J&J Eger Eged-Hegy Dülö Kékfrankos

Hungarian wines encompass much more than sweet Tokajis. Consider this lovely dry red from J&J Eger Wine Co. in the hills 60 miles west...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Cirelli Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

This is a zippy Trebbiano from an estate in Italy's south dedicated to organic farming. I can remember when it was nearly impossible to find...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Tablas Creek Vineyard 'Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc'

Château de Beaucastel produces a stupendous Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc, and its Paso Robles property, Tablas Creek Vineyard,...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Langmeil Barossa 'Three Gardens'

It's the time of year for rich, full-bodied reds, and this week that would be the Langmeil Barossa "Three Gardens." A blend of Shiraz,...

Beer of the Month: Mendocino Brewing Blackeye Ale

Mendocino Brewing Blackeye Ale

Wine of the Week: 2010 St. Urbans-Hof Riesling 'Ockfener Bockstein Mosel Kabinett'

German wines can sometimes be astonishing bargains. This gorgeous Riesling Kabinett from St. Urbans-Hof winery in the heart of Germany's...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Domaine Faiveley Mercurey 'Clos des Myglands, Premier Cru'

It's not often that you find a premier cru Burgundy of this quality at this price. I still can't quite believe it. Beautifully balanced,...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Meroi Sauvignon 'Colli Orientali del Friuli'

2009 Meroi Sauvignon "Colli Orientali del Friuli"

Beer of the Month: Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

Here's a big bear hug of a dry stout. It pours dark, dark brown, virtually opaque, with a medium tan head. The nose is fairly malty with a...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Evening Land Pinot Noir

It's easy to detect the hand of consulting winemaker Dominique Lafon in this lush Pinot from Evening Land vineyard in Oregon's Willamette...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Domaine de la Janasse Côtes-du-Rhône Villages 'Terre d'Argile'

2009 Domaine de la Janasse Côtes-du-Rhône Villages "Terre d'Argile"

Wine of the Week: 2010 Jean-Marc Burgaud Régnié 'Vallières'

Don't recognize the Beaujolais cru called Régnié? That's probably because it's the youngest, established only in 1988, and not...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Régis Minet Pouilly Fumé 'Vieilles Vignes'

The minute I tasted this terrific Pouilly Fumé from Régis Minet, I wanted oysters. Not just a half dozen but at least a couple...

Wine of the Week: 2004 Weingut Bründlmayer St. Laurent 'Ried Ladner'

When I invited a new friend to dinner last week and asked her to bring a wine, she asked about the menu. And evidently she listened, because...

2007 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja 'Crianza'

A 4-year-old red from Rioja for less than $20? That's why Bodegas Sierra Cantabria always gets such high marks for its price/quality ratio....

Wine of the Week: 2009 Régis Bouvier Marsannay 'Clos du Roy'

Régis Bouvier is something of a genie, turning out lovely Burgundies at affordable prices. The 2009 Marsannay from the lieu fit...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Trajarinho Vinho Verde

In Porto, I remember eating sardines grilled outside a little restaurant near the sea accompanied by gulps of chilled vinho verde....

Beer of the month: Bootlegger's Brewery Golden Chaos

The name is a play on the famous Belgian ale Gouden Carolus, and this is a very Belgian sort of golden ale, down to the Champagne-type...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Famille Bréchet Lirac 'Plateau des Chênes'

The minute I poured a glass of this 2010 Lirac, the scent of dried wild herbs, ripe blackberries, olives and earth leapt out of the glass....

Wine of the Week: 2008 Allende White Rioja

Looking for an alternative to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc? Lately, some interesting whites are coming out of Rioja, and Allende's Rioja...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Roccafiore Grechetto di Todi 'Fiorfiore'

The white grape Grechetto has a long history in Umbria in central Italy. It's an essential part of the blend for the region's best-known...

Wine of the Week: 2009 Les Halos de Jupiter Vacqueyras

For Les Halos de Jupiter's Philippe Cambie, "Grenache is the king of all grapes and the natural leader of all Rhone varietals." The southern...

Beer of the Month: Port Brewing Hot Rocks Lager

In the Middle Ages, brewers sometimes stoked their brew kettles by throwing in rocks that had been heated red-hot. They were on to...

Beer of the Month: Telegraph Brewing Co. Rhinoceros Barleywine-Style Ale

The typical barley wine is a winter drink, sweet, malty and potent. The contrarian Santa Barbara outfit Telegraph Brewing produces an...

Wine of the Week: 2010 Bodegas Muga Rosado

I'm flying through my summer wines, already out of rosés. But I've got a new candidate for house wine: the 2010 rosado or ros&#...