by admin | Apr 28, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
“…a wedding feast lacking wine embarrasses the newlyweds – imagine finishing the wedding feast drinking tea? It would be an embarrassment!” Those weren’t the words of some boozy sommelier or vineyard fanatic. That was Pope Francis, calling it like he...
by admin | Apr 21, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
Paris, France I don’t remember the first malbec I tasted. But I do remember the first one I couldn’t afford. It was at Don Julio, back when it was still a neighborhood joint, before the Michelin star, before the global fame. The place felt lived-in, the kind of spot...
by Lucy | Apr 14, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
Paris, France I was at the edge of Europe, near Faro, Portugal. Fresh fish. Good wine. A beautiful setting. The westernmost point of the continent, where the West becomes the East again. Old stone towns, salty Atlantic winds, seafood pulled from the ocean that...
by admin | Apr 7, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
Faro, Portugal The car rental guy moved like someone scooping coleslaw at a midwestern potluck—unhurried, deliberate, as if the line in front of him didn’t exist. The road into town wasn’t much faster. Storm Nuria was rolling in hard—phone alerts buzzing, palm trees...
by admin | Mar 31, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
Buenos Aires, Argentina Sitting at Don Julio, a steakhouse famous long before Michelin noticed, Matías Etchart uncorked his Amar y Vivir Malbec. His “kids” — now in their mid-20s and starting their new jobs — laughed, forks clinked, and the buzz of...
by Lucy | Mar 24, 2025 | The Wine Explorers Letter, Wine Education
Someone recently described our wine club members as “people with brains.” I took it as a compliment—but more importantly, as reassurance. Reassurance that in a world chasing quick fixes, viral trends, and instant answers, some of us still prefer to slow down and ask:...
