Alinea the Best Restaurant in the U. S.?
Grant Achatz’s Alinea, located in a utterly non-descript building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, has been at the top of best restaurant lists for the 12 years it has been […]
Wisconsin is Not Only about Cheese: Brats, Booyah, Boils and Supper Clubs
Generally, any sentence containing the words “Wisconsin” and “food” should probably contain “cheese” as well. Wisconsinites are not called “cheeseheads” for nothing. When scouring the state for what is unique […]
The Lure of the Grape and Wisconsin
To get into winemaking many people give up lucrative jobs and stable careers. The lure of working the land, creating beauty, and sharing it with enthusiasts in an atmosphere of […]
The Grapes from Minnesota are Cold Hardy
We’ve taken the plunge, a deep dive into non-vinifera grape varieties. The wines we are all familiar with—Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay—almost every wine you find on the shelf in […]
There’s No Such Thing as Flyover Country in Wine and Food
The term “flyover country” when referring to the Midwest has always struck me as insulting. It not only ignores the Midwest’s great natural beauty but fails to acknowledge the cultural […]
Meat, Mead and Mountain Wine in Missoula, Montana
Can wine grapes be grown in Montana? There are some hardy souls who try. Excessive cold, meaning sustained temperatures below –10 degrees, will damage the wood on all vitis vinifera […]
Boise Basque’n
Just like most wine regions, Idaho’s Snake River Valley has a growing food scene anchored by the city of Boise. They boast several highly recommended restaurants serving contemporary American cuisine, but when […]
Idaho Wine: Working for Grapes
Idaho may not be the first state you consider when the topic of U.S. wine comes up. But if you’ve been paying attention to the wine press lately, Idaho, especially […]
Wine and Food in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley
There are advantages to being less well-known in the wine world. There are fewer expectations so you can focus on what you want to do rather than what is conventional […]
Farm to Table in Southern Oregon
The farm to table thing has metastasized from fetish to fad to flim-flam. What began as a foodie obsession with freshness and an anti-corporate ethos has become a marketing device […]
Roving Decanter 