Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and discussion

Well, that's a depressing read: https://www.curbed.com/article/nyc-businesses-closed-2020-pandemic.html So many restaurants, many of which I went to when we lived in NYC and when I would come back for work, are now gone. I keep hoping once the pandemic is over the city will see a renaissance, but I...

Well, that's a depressing read: https://www.curbed.com/article/nyc-businesses-closed-2020-pandemic.html So many restaurants, many of which I went to when we lived in NYC and when I would come back for work, are now gone. I keep hoping once the pandemic is over the city will see a renaissance, but I ...

I sent a message to my suppliers in Spain and France stating my opinion that any changes in tariffs before the 2nd half of 2021 are extremely unlikely. Summer is unlikely, fall quite possible but this could stretch into early 2022. Dan Kravitz Completely agree. They'll use it as a bargaining chip, ...

Travis Fantz wrote: ↑October 29th, 2020, 11:20 am Is there a tariff in place right now?

I just paid $15,000 last week to someone at Customs, so yeah there are f*****g tariffs in place.

Was this posted anywhere here? I know it's a few days ago and the news of yesterday is usually overshadowed by either COVID or the 2020 election, but this is an important read especially those of us here that are Importers and have to deal with these trade disputes that have NOTHING to do with us. ...

Seeing Robert Dentice's note that Chef Taku Sekine passing made me think about this thread. Paris is like an ex-girlfriend for me... after a while, all you remember are the great things, and scrolling through this thread reminded me of just how many of them there were. As a follow-on, I got a lette...

Robert Dentice wrote: ↑September 29th, 2020, 11:46 am Devastated to report that Chef Taku Sekine of Dersou and Cheval d'Or has passed. He was so unbelievably talented and a gentle soul. R.I.P.

What? What happened? I saw him at Cheval d'Or in February, such a lovely soul. So sad, sincerest condolences to his family and friend. I am in shock.

WvanGorp wrote: ↑September 22nd, 2020, 5:21 pm Not to make Michel jealous but several of us are having pizza in the park tomorrow night from Ops.

That's just mean.

The one restaurant I was looking forward to trying was Veau d’Or. it was being taken over by a couple of fairly serious chefs, and given the wonderful traditional menu, I thought with a few twists it could have been sensational. Obviously COVID put back the opening, but I could not find updates. An...

Nola Palomar wrote: ↑August 12th, 2020, 9:51 am Expecting the news today.

I have a bottle of Champagne on ice. As Churchill said, "In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it."

Reading these comments gives me hope that our vibrant restaurant scene will survive, albeit in smaller numbers. I follow many of these on Instagram and it's wonderful to see how inventive (and decorative) they've gotten with outdoor seating (something that was sorely lacking, TBH). It will be inter...

Reading these comments gives me hope that our vibrant restaurant scene will survive, albeit in smaller numbers. I follow many of these on Instagram and it's wonderful to see how inventive (and decorative) they've gotten with outdoor seating (something that was sorely lacking, TBH). It will be intere...

Update: decided to pop the last bottle of this we have. When else is the NYT gonna profile an obscure 200 case pet nat?Bought a year ago (2018 vintage) and it’s been sitting upright in our regular fridge since then. Popped the crown cap and the bubbles didn’t stop overflowing for 2 minutes (we let ...

Disclaimer= we sell this in NY/NJ It's a Pet'nat of Riesling from Kickon Ranch in Santa Barbara. So no secondary fermentation, the first fermentation finishes in the bottle, and therefore there's no fining/filtering (which explains the cloudiness, but think of it as col fondo). It does need to be ve...

July 26 is the deadline to comment, so if you haven't already done so, please go to this link and voice your opposition:
https://uswinetradealliance.org/endwinetariffs/

Talk about punishing grapes for something oranges did.

There is now an easy to use portal to add comments against these self-punitive and ineffective tariffs, you can post either as trade or as consumer, please share this with all wine loving friends and family:

https://uswinetradealliance.org/endwinetariffs/

Perhaps you've heard of this little bug called coronavirus?

What I read (which I can't now find) is that they were considering suspending the COLLECTION of the tariffs, but not the obligation. So they would still calculate the tariffs, but you could pay later. I guess akin to what the IRS has said about income taxes... THIS. It's SO stupid. We'll still owe ...

https://twitter.com/KhushAndOJ/status/1240329504276590594 The BLT Group did too, saying they wanted to make sure their employees could get unemployment before the tidal wave of requests hit. Maybe that was USHG's rationale too. This is going to be bad, very bad. My heart goes out to all the hard-wo...

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday he plans to order restaurants and bars closed except for takeout and delivery orders. The move aims to lessen the spread of COVID-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — by limiting interactions between large groups of people. A number of other states ha...

Tanoshi Sushi on the UES was solid but nothing special. Brought my own stems with no corkage fees. Reasonably priced at just a little over $100. A good neighborhood spot but not worth the 20 minute and $20 Uber to get there. Weird set-up in that the guests have to wait outside for each seating to b...

As for natural wines, I can tell you there are a lot of people following philosophy at the expense of taste (here in the US as well I might add), which is something that I detest. There's also a lot of chasing similar names which also drives me nuts. Especially as we import a fair amount of natural...

Glad to see you had a great time Sarah. Sorry to hear about Mokonuts, I've only heard good things but have never been. I am jealous you made it to Saint Sebastien as that was on my list of places to visit and I never made it (same with Rigmarole but just as I landed they got their Michelin star so t...

All good things must come to an end, so after a debaucherous Monday night at Ma Cave Fleury, I was up for a quiet lunch last Tuesday before flying back to the US. The area around my apartment in the 9th has exploded with tons of small boutiques and cool restaurants, many of them clustered around Rue...

Love Cheval d' Or! I felt the same way I had been hearing so much about it that I was worried that it might not live up but it did and then some. Exactly. It didn't hurt that it was a semi-official industry night (I was actually with your friend Atsushi and my friend Wendy Lyn - well, they barged i...

Love Cheval d' Or! I felt the same way I had been hearing so much about it that I was worried that it might not live up but it did and then some. Exactly. It didn't hurt that it was a semi-official industry night (I was actually with your friend Atsushi and my friend Wendy Lyn - well, they barged i...

Sunday I joined industry folks for a few drinks at Caves Septime (once again completely overrun with Americans but still fantastic), then headed over to Cheval D'Or for dinner. After hearing so much about it, I was eager to see what they could do. And I was not disappointed. The place was packed wit...

Just got back from France last night through JFK, my first international trip in several months. The GE kiosks no longer demand a passport swipe right away but rather ask you to take a picture, then the system identifies you (creepy...) and spits out a receipt. I assume if it can't recognize you it ...

Friday I didn't just drink Champagne, but I went to Champagne, to see Champagne Fleury, which we import. On the way back I got stuck in Valentine's Day traffic and had to change my plans. I ended up meeting up with a friend from school who lives in Paris and popping into Cave Paul Bert (which was fi...

Tanoshi Sushi, free corkage! 1372 York Ave, New York, NY 10021 http://tanoshisushinyc.com/index.html forgot about this...have you been recently? Curious how the food is holding up... I ate there a few months ago and it was very good, still BYO friendly (brought a bottle of Champagne Fleury Fleur de...

Thanks Nola, much appreciated. I was in deep dark Sicily yesterday so am now playing catch up.

Mark, haven't hit up fish Kodawari yet, I might try that for lunch before I leave.

Greg, I had heard about it but completely forgot, I really need to get there before I go. Thanks for reminding me!

Sunday I spent the day with our TX distributor, we took in a local wine trade show then meandered around Notre-Dame. The damage is heartbreaking, there's no roof, the windows are replaced by plastic tarps, there are wooden supports under the flying buttresses, and the damaged scaffolding is still th...

It also suggests that, in addition to price increase, we consumers may be facing shortages. Already happening. Retailers are starting to have empty spots on their shelves in certain markets. We took a gamble and ordered big at the end of the year (basically I told our wineries that Christmas was po...

It also suggests that, in addition to price increase, we consumers may be facing shortages. Already happening. Retailers are starting to have empty spots on their shelves in certain markets. We took a gamble and ordered big at the end of the year (basically I told our wineries that Christmas was po...

Friday night was dinner with expat friends, with a quick stop at Cave Septime to start the night right (Plageoles Blanc in the glass). Then we walked over to Jones, where the food was fantastic, service warm, and the wine list short but interesting. The Tourte d'Agneau was crazy good, and while rich...

I met one of my best customers at L'Avant Comptoir du Marché yesterday for lunch before he headed back to the US, which turned into a 3 hour affair, of course. I'd never been to this one, having frequented both the Avant Comptoir de la Terre and de la Mer and loving both, despite their tourist-trapp...

9 days and ticking until we know the next round of products on the carousel of goods. The uncertainty is like waiting for a prison sentence to be read. Who needs sleep? At least I'm in France so I'm eating/drinking my anxiety. That explains the tired look in your avatar. Ambien is a hell of a drug....

Nola Palomar wrote: ↑February 6th, 2020, 3:51 am 9 days and ticking until we know the next round of products on the carousel of goods. The uncertainty is like waiting for a prison sentence to be read.

Who needs sleep? At least I'm in France so I'm eating/drinking my anxiety.

As I wrote on Instagram, this was today's motto....

What a great day! Andrew and I have turned our annual trips to France into a reason to meet up for some great meals. In the past, we hit Juveniles, Paul Bert, but this year we went all out. We started at Enfants du Marché, where Chef Masa was making some delicious dishes, as usual, for a light crowd...

The most interesting (and delicious) wine I tasted at Enfants du Marche last fall was Sous le Végétal Muscat Livia, a dry Chenin from Greece. I wish I could find some to buy. Sarah, I just tell them I want something fresh and not (too) oxidative that they think goes well with whatever I am ordering...

After three days of non-stop wine trade shows, today was a detox day. I met a friend for lunch at Kunitoraya, an always deliciously reliable udon place in the 1st, near Rue Saint Anne. Another stalwart, this has been delicious for years, and a go-to for authentic Japanese food in a lovely, warm sett...

First night in Paris was dinner with business associates at Bistrot Paul Bert. It was as usual packed with both locals and tourists, and firing on all cylinders. We discussed how despite being a tourist destination the food and service had remained delicious over the years, and my Gigot d'Agneau , s...

Nice article. I think every restaurant was mentioned here first! https://www.eater.com/2020/1/22/21068125/asian-food-in-paris-restaurants-chinese-japanese-korean-cuisine Perfect timing, something to read on the plane to Paris tonight. We really enjoyed our meal at Cheval d'Or. I'll try to make it t...

Killing me that they gave CAM a shout-out; it’s my backup for Sunday if I don’t get the Rigamorle waiting list call. Love CAM, and the Smiths Sundays were the only time we cheated on Sunday family dinner... was just great to go somewhere that didn’t feel like Paris. I know, right? I am probably tak...

Robert Dentice wrote: ↑January 23rd, 2020, 7:35 am Nice article. I think every restaurant was mentioned here first!

https://www.eater.com/2020/1/22/2106812 ... an-cuisine

Perfect timing, something to read on the plane to Paris tonight.

to Matt Hartley, you wrote: "But the importer owes the 25% within 10 days..." Your argument is incorrect from this phrase on. The importer pays the 25% before the wine is released from customs. I know. I'm the importer. I've been writing the checks. Dan Kravitz +1. I get the invoice the m...

As someone with Champagne on the water, I am slightly relieved. This only resolved one issue (the DST), there is still risk of 100% on ALL wines from the EU, including Champagne, for the Airbus issue. So they just removed one nuke, the other one is still hanging over our heads. Fun times. We’ll be ...

As someone with Champagne on the water, I am slightly relieved. This only resolved one issue (the DST), there is still risk of 100% on ALL wines from the EU, including Champagne, for the Airbus issue. So they just removed one nuke, the other one is still hanging over our heads.

Fun times.

Search found 3322 matches