Author name: Charlotte Ito

The August issue of Food & Wine contained an article, “Meet Amazake, Japan’s Ancient Energy Drink That Bartenders Are Embracing.”

I took a break from posting because I wanted some time to address the elephant in the room: alcohol and its impact on our health.

The 2021 Estate Chardonnay from Thomas Fogarty opens with bright notes of lemon, a delicate whiff of melon and refreshing minerality.

My time in New York began with the fabulous Cherry Tastic at Benoit and the cherry theme carried on the following evening.

What to drink in New York City’s unseasonable heat wave?

Tucked into the hills of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, near the Slovenian border, Friuli Colli Orientali is one of Italy’s most respected regions for white wine.

At first, this Brunello tasted flat despite its excellent reputation. In fact, it seemed to have almost no flavor at all.

In the early 2010s, Cade Estate Winery was established by the PlumpJack Group (of then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Gordon Getty).

Who can resist a wine described as “an exciting rosé of Gamay and Trousseau with flavors of strawberry, watermelon, and fruit punch with great texture and a zippy finish”?

This was the first time I had heard of the Manseng grape. If Dave Gabiné at Le Central hadn’t included it on his wine list, I would have missed out on this beautiful and robust wine entirely.

The 2018 Viader Black Label from Howell Mountain is a striking, estate-grown blend that commands attention from the first sip.

On an unusually frigid San Francisco evening during the recent cold snap, there was only one choice: French onion soup at Le Central.

Armenia’s Areni grape is a bridge between ancient history and modern wine.

SummaryWine:     2023 Riviera Ligure di PonenteRegion:  Liguria, ItalyGrape:   100% PigatoStyle:     Dry whiteAlcohol: 12.0%Producer: Maixei The 2023 Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato by Maixei shows a pale lemon color with hints of green on the edges. Primary aromas of lemon, grapefruit and lemon peel are supported by a light herbal note

Deep purple in the glass, this elegantly structured Rioja opens with aromas and flavors of blackberry, blueberry and fig, layered with accents of clove and nutmeg.

Shimmering pale yellow, this Moscato d’Asti bursts with delightful aromas of honeysuckle, cantaloupe and rose.

To explore the different expressions the Cabernet Franc grape, I blind-tasted Cab Francs from France, Uruguay and the Napa Valley.

The pale gold Lallier champagne shimmered like the moonlight at Half Moon Bay, with waves crashing against the cliffs and onto the beach below and a vigorous Pacific coast wind.

La Costanera is a warm, lively Peruvian restaurant in Half Moon Bay.

What’s the secret? These grapes grow on prehistoric lands in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy, in a landscape shaped and inhabited across millenia.

A glass of Sangiovese, a bowl of ragù, and for a brief moment in San Francisco…Tuscany.

“Authenticity” gets thrown around a lot these days, perhaps as a pushback against curated social media.

And survival and rediscovery. Before the phylloxera insect devastated Europe’s vineyards in the 19th century, Chilean vintners had already imported cuttings of Bordeaux varieties. Among them was Carménère, mistaken for Merlot, for many years. In 1994, French ampelographer Jean-Michel Boursiquot examined Chilean vines and determined that they were actually Carménère. Today, Chile is Carménère’s adopted

A bottle with a long history: Carpene Malvolti 1868 Prosecco Superiore

France’s annual toast to the new vintage Every third Thursday in November, France releases Beaujolais Nouveau, the year’s first wine. Made from the Gamay grape for early drinking. Summary Wine: 2025 Beaujolais Nouveau Region: Beaujolais, France Grape: 100% Gamay Style: Light bodied red wine Producers: Domaine Dupeuble, Domaine de la Cadette, George DuBoeuf, Louis Jadot,

What happens when the Chardonnay grape from Champagne is reborn? It becomes Ratafia. Summary Wine: NV Vilmart et Cie Ratafia (NV=not a single vintage, came from a blend of harvests)Region: Rilly-la-Montagne, Champagne, FranceGrape: 100% ChardonnayStyle: Fortified Dessert WineProducer: Vilmart et CieRestaurant: TORC, Napa TastingSlightly effervescent, the Ratafia literally shimmers. In production, fermentation was paused midway

Le Artishasic Vin Clair, Cuvée No. 3 Another remarkable find at TORC Napa. The 2019 Le Artishasic Vin Clair, Cuvée No. 3, reflects the new direction of California’s next generation of winemakers. A blend of the Italian grape, Ribolla Gialla, and Chardonnay, the wine balances Ribolla’s brightness and acidity with Chardonnay’s rounder texture. What stood

The aromas opened with black plum, blackberry and a touch of cedar. The wine matured nicely in the bottle, gaining layers of complexity: cigar box, cinnamon, stewed plum and raisin, and a hint of black pepper. It remains fresh, lifted by its bright acidity in balance with 15.4% alcohol. The tannins, likely assertive upon release,

Chilled red wines are gaining popularity these days. Per Google AI, chilling brings out the fruit flavors and lowers the tannin level. It’s become popular with the rise of natural wines that tend to be lighter bodied wines.

Inspired by Jancis Robinson’s September 27, 2025 article “In Praise of Kabinett”, where she quotes German wine writer Paula Redes Sidore’s declaration, “Kabis geht immer” (“it’s always a good time for a Kabinett”), I set out to test that theory. At the San Francisco Wine Trading Company, I found the Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett