There's a growing trend in the Manhattan nightlife scene towards discreet drinking temples -- spaces whose front doors are as softly spoken as the imbibers who pass through these hidden gateways. (read more)

When Cork & Knife catches up with Gary Vaynerchuk, star of Wine Library TV, he is in Las Vegas at a tea expo (just try explaining that one to your grandma). He notes, as we begin to chat, that there are interesting similarities between tea and wine. This is more proof to us that this person's hunger for knowledge just doesn't stop. (read more)

Robert Mondavi died today at home, after a long life of making wine and shaping California wine’s image. He was 94. His was an eight-decade career. In 1966 he opened the winery that bore his name, which was the most... (read more)

Crisp, grassy, light, dry … these are wine notes that make us think of summertime. This week, as the whole Northeast corridor continues waking up from its winter nap, some key wine writers focused on sauvignon blanc — a wine... (read more)

When you look up "extravagant" in the dictionary, you may very well find the picture here. It costs 27,321 dirham at the Skyview Bar of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai and is, appropriately enough, named the "27.321." For those not familiar with the exchange rates, I am told that it comes out to approximately $7,450 for one cocktail. (read more)

Watch as Cork & Knife Editor Chip Griffin tastes four different traditional English beers from St. Peter's in the United Kingdom. (read more)

"Vayniacs" will no doubt be pleased to know that video wine blogger Gary Vaynerchuk will soon bring his picking personality to bookstores everywhere. His "101 Wines" book is slated to be published in mid-May and should please current fans and find new ones as well. (read more)

It should come as no surprise that Americans drink a lot of beer every year, but we also make a lot of beer. New statistics released by the Brewers Association ranks nearly 1500 breweries in the U.S., including both major producers you have probably heard of, as well as countless craft brewers with which you may be less familiar. (read more)

Most diners give at least some thought to what they are drinking at a restaurant, but what about the people that are in that wine or spirit glass? No, I'm not talking about the sloppy fingerprints that some establishments leave on the rim or the health code challenged place where a waiter sneezed on your glass before delivering it. (read more)

Wine bars? We’ve got two on that topic. Weekend martinis? Brazilian sugar cane juice with a kick? Somebody’s thinking about summer cocktails, too. People are ready to relax outside and maybe even tie one on to celebrate the arrival of... (read more)

Wine writers this week were in a romantic mood — they went on a European holiday to Spain, France and Italy. They used words like beguiling, heartbreak, soulful, beautiful, and intense. Like you, they are probably dreaming of better weather,... (read more)

Looking for something to do this weekend? If you like wine, you might be interested in the Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival presented by The Washington Post. This ninth annual event features more wine than you could reasonably... (read more)

A little bird told us this is Valentine’s Day Weekend for a lot of folks who decided not to celebrate on the 14th. So people who hate dealing with crowds and overburdened servers may have stayed out of restaurants and... (read more)

Happy 4706! Well, almost. The Chinese New Year starts on Feb. 7, and the Year of the Rat is coming (check your own Chinese symbol here). It is nice to think about another new beginning, since by now most of... (read more)

It is a little silly for us to write a headline like the above, being that we happen to be 50 percent Italian ourselves and therefore a little biased. But what it refers to is the fact that every wine... (read more)

With the long, not-terribly-cold Washington winter stretching out before us, and the holidays solidly past, we at Cork & Knife have decided to tone up. Yes, we have joined a gym, in the hopes of getting the old blood moving... (read more)

Happy weekend, friends. Is anyone feeling like it was a long week? Going back to the grind can be tough, especially with the psychic weight of knowing the champagne supply has just been decimated. But now it is Wine Friday... (read more)

It's time to stock the bar (there are two items on this), learn about global bubbly options, and plan to have some of the strong stuff on hand for your guests who say "pish tosh" to a simple glass of red. (read more)

We'll admit to feeling totally relieved Thanksgiving is behind us. Why should we feel this way about such a happy occasion? Something in the air, maybe. Either way, now it's time to relax, shop, and open some really good wine for no reason at all! The crowds have gone, your kitchen's a wreck and cooking's the last thing on your mind. Let the wine inspire your food choices for the next few nights as you relax into true winter. (read more)

Ladies and gents, this is probably the most helpful of all the Hot Plates columns we have had so far. This week there are several terrific articles about wine that suggest a variety of bottles to buy for your holiday table; much ink is devoted, too, to explaining the "why" behind these selections. That is part of what is so addictive about getting into wine: There are guidelines to follow, but bending those rules can lead to a delicious discovery. (read more)

As Italian wines increasingly get the respect they deserve from American consumers, many of you may be considering gifts of this delicious juice for holiday gifts. But what to buy? Italian wines are some of the most daunting to learn, at least in this writer's experience. (read more)

Air travel these days isn't comfortable for you or your wine. But with liquid carryon restrictions, you need a safe way to get that precious juice home. A new product promises to do just that. (read more)

To help you start a tradition, or build on one you've already begun, we'll round up the recommendations from newspaper wine writers. (read more)

Wine lovers now have a new option when seeking the best price on the perfect bottle of wine. San Francisco-based Vinquire provides a web-wide search engine that will tell you where and at what price you can buy a specific wine. (read more)

Imagine sipping an uncarbonated drink in a snifter. Not exactly the classic image of a beer, but that's exactly what Samuel Adams has done with the fourth release of its limited edition Utopias. (read more)

Newman's Own will soon be adding wine to its roster of products. Starting in March 2008, the company will begin offering California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, starting with the 2006 vintage. (read more)

Though the newspapers are full of talk about Thanksgiving this week, there are still a few interesting stories about wine and spirits to be had. (read more)

The Specialty Wine Retailers Association has announced the launch of new online efforts to fight for less restrictive wine shipping laws throughout the United States. (read more)

Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin vetoed a provision in the new state budget that would have permitted retail outlets to offer consumers up to 3 half-ounce samples of spirits, bringing those drinks in line with the rules for beer instituted... (read more)

The wine writers at papers this week were in a big-wine mode, which is fitting for the season. And some of them were more in the mood for a beer, and didn't even bother writing about wine. Here is the... (read more)

Happy weekend to you, readers. This week's food pages had a few items worth noting, some of which we wrote down in our "wireless device" to reference when we get to the wine store this afternoon. Darn that L.A. Times.... (read more)

Last week, the Los Angeles Times' Betty Hallock wrote about a hot trend today in mixology: edible cocktails. These aren't your college-era Jello shots (not that any of us did those, of course), but rather a sort of molecular gastronomy for beverages. Betty took a few minutes to chat with Cork & Knife Radio about what she discovered while munching on cocktails. (read more)

Sometimes, dear readers, opening the food section is a little bit like checking a friend's fridge when you are not sure what you want to eat: Maybe you love everything you see, and maybe there is only a carton of... (read more)

As fall begins to settle in for much of the country, the food pages are awash in autumnal treats including apples, lively red wines, spicy white wines, and -- tongue! Hot Plates takes you on a tour of the country's newspapers for what's hot this week. (read more)

Whisky lovers everywhere have a great source of information in Mark Gillespie's WhiskyCast.  Now two years old, this brief weekly podcast delivers a mix of news reporting, interviews, and features on one of the world's favorite brown spirits.  Mark... (read more)

How appropriate that Danny DeVito should launch his own line of limoncello, the lemon-flavored liqueur he mentioned on his infamous appearance last year on ABC's The View after a night (and morning?) on the town with George Clooney.  At 60... (read more)

September, that month of beginnings, is here, and in this first week of the month the food pages are sprinkled liberally with news items about new and noteworthy restaurants in New York, D.C. and Los Angeles. (read more)

Keith Dickey joked with his wife that he likes to reinvent himself "every ten or fifteen years." In fact, it was his time in Greece and Turkey that taught him to like exotic foods. It would take a decade-long detour to health care investment banking before he would have a chance to put that love for food into action. Today, he runs a successful gourmet food store in downtown Concord, NH, and he agreed to sit down for an interview with Cork & Knife TV. (read more)

Upscale keg parties, pickle chips, jug beer, ethnic street food vendors, and more from this week's food pages of some of the nation's major newspapers. (read more)

The Nature website reports that a grape genome has been decoded:A French-led team of geneticists has cemented the country's reputation as the world's wine capital — by compiling the complete genetic code of a Pinot Noir grape. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they... (read more)