Chateau Margaux is in the Bordeaux commune of Margaux on the left bank of the Gironde River. The wines made in Margaux are some of the most feminine in style of all Bordeaux wines. Among the wines of Margaux, the wines of Chateau Margaux are the best of all of those. From their perfumed nose to their lithe complexities, they are wines that reflect their terroir in a most elegant way. The history of Chateau Margaux can be traced back at least to the twelfth century when it was known as “La Mothe de Margaux” from motte meaning a small rise in the land. Sometime during the 16th century, the first grape vines were planted under the direction of Pierre de Lastonnac. Within the next hundred years, Chateau Margaux expanded to cover 654 acres, approximately one-third of that with grape vines. In the 1700s, an estate manager named Berlon introduced many “new” improvements. Today, his ideas are common sense, but back then they were radical. Ideas such as not picking grapes when they were wet and vinifying the red and white grapes separately led to a much higher quality of wine. The result was evident as by 1771 the wines of Margaux were featured in the catalogues of Christie’s. Around that time, America’s first wine lover, Thomas Jefferson, rated Chateau Margaux as the top wine in Bordeaux. His meticulous records document an order he placed in 1784.

While getting ready for a recent holiday celebration, I discovered that I had far fewer wine glasses in my cabinet than I had thought (I am known for my klutzy tendencies). With several wine enthusiasts coming to my home for dinner, I needed to start shopping for replacement glasses. What I found was a bewildering array of shapes, sizes and prices, not to mention colors and patterns. Shopping for stemware can definitely be overwhelming.

Perhaps the most consistent of the Bordeaux First Growths has been Chateau Latour. While the other four Chateaus have had periods of underperformance, Chateau Latour has been remarkably consistent over the years in making some of the best wine to be found. Chateau Latour can trace its history back to 1331 when a tower, called Tor à St-Lambert, was built on the site. This tower was used for defense in a battle between the Plantagenets and the French during the Hundred Years Wars. Sometime around 1378, the land, now referred to as “the tower” or Le Tour, was a seigneurie, a sharecropping system of land ownership. In 1453, when the English were finally defeated, the owner of the estate, Sieur de Larsan fled. The property returned to the control of the French and the tower on the site was destroyed. Nothing from it, other than the name, exists today. Sometime in the early 17th century, the the building on the label of the bottle called a dovecot was built on the site of the original tower.

Ask any wine lover about wines from Argentina, and you'll probably get one of two answers – malbec or Mendoza. Just as wines made from the malbec grape are associated with Argentina, the country that made them great, Mendoza's influence on Argentina's wine industry is so strong that many people focus exclusively on this region.

Chile's wine heritage dates back to 1548, when Spanish monks brought wine grapes with them to the New World. The Spanish settlers quickly discovered that their new country's soils and climate were perfect for growing grapes. By the time Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1810, the Chilean wine industry was well-established and flourishing.

This is the second of a two-part series on making Pinot Noir. Read Part One: Making Incredible Pinot Noir: Tips for the Micro-Winery One of the greatest and most challenging wines to grow in the vineyard and make in the cellar is Pinot Noir. For all its troubles, Pinot Noir can be one of the most rewarding wines to make.

This is the first of a two-part series on making Pinot Noir. One of the greatest and most difficult wines to grow in the vineyard and make in the cellar is Pinot Noir. For all its troubles, Pinot Noir can also be one of the most rewarding wines to make. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard a converted beer or spirits drinker say the wine that changed the game for them was Pinot Noir. It is for various reasons that Pinot is the great wine that it is. Now, let’s discuss how we can make a memorable Pinot of our own.

Stellenbosch is synonymous with South African winemaking. South Africa's second-oldest town was founded in 1679 by Dutch settlers; the first wine grapes were planted not long after that, mainly by Huguenots who left France to find a new home. Settlers began establishing wine estates in the early 1680s, so it is not surprising that the town of Stellenbosch has lent its name to the wine region that surrounds it. Traditionally famous for its white wines, Stellenbosch has reinvented itself in recent years, changing focus and emphasizing production of quality red wines.

I cannot begin to count how many times I have been asked to build a wine cellar for a client that either had little or no vapor barrier or it was done wrong. Most of the time the client,builder, or GC had no idea what a vapor barrier is. I will try to explain the importance of proper insulation,vapor barrier, and of course humidity.

A popular appetizer for a reason, crab cakes maintain numerous enthusiastic followers. Two innovators, Tom Douglas and Shelley Lance, even wrote the book: I Love Crab Cakes! 50 Recipes for an American Classic . An ongoing battle rages over who produces the best examples in Baltimore, but others swear by those hailing from the Carolinas.