Author: John Brown

My father was born and raised in Richwood, that mountain village on the shores of the oft-flooded Cherry River, where aside from boasting of having the world’s largest clothespin factory in the early 20th century, now is more commonly known for the town that legitimized and made famous Allium tricoccums or ramps. Of course, we…

I’m Back! That self-serving declaration has a double meaning for me since I’ve been absent from these Style pages for a couple of months due to that same word – Back- as in that fragile rear side of the human body. And while I was recuperating from surgery, I had a lot of free time…

As I sit here composing this column and look out my office window at the first snowflakes of the year gently falling, it truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas – and Hannukah. I can also tell because many of my friends are calling asking me to suggest a wine for the special…

One of the faithful Thanksgiving traditions in our Italian American family involved spirited discussions around the holiday table. The decibel level of these emotionally charged altercations could sometimes exceed the sound of cicadas at war. During these holiday debates, no subject was too grand, obscure or off limits. We would debate everything from presidential politics…

I’m convinced that my obsession with wine and food can be attributed to fifty percent of my ancestral composition – the Italian half. I suppose I should credit the other half (Irish) with my fondness for stronger beverages, and for blarney – my penchant for long-winded descriptions of things (like wine and food) most normal…

My brother fancies himself a gourmet cook, but rather than disagree with his delusion, I usually just nod and let him go about blissfully concocting his latest comestible contrivance. I must admit, though, that he does usually deliver on his culinary creations, but the kitchen devastation left in his wake requires HazMat-like intervention to clean…

The best summertime red wine that pairs well with the widest variety of meals from salads to pastas is pinot noir. Of course, the most revered pinot noir in the world is produced in the Burgundy region of France, but only Russian oligarchs and Saudi princes can afford to drink that stuff on a regular…

One of my pet peeves with the wine industry over the years has been their occasional practice of inventing a new term to describe an already defined word. This results in only further confusing we already bewildered American wine consumers who must regularly deal with labels in foreign languages and nonsensical descriptions of wines as…

Once the weather moderates, some folks can’t wait to hit the pool, dust off the old golf clubs or dig in the dirt and plant things. Not me. Warm weather gets me in the mood to create delicious  salads and follow that course up with a stick to your ribs, spicy and hearty entrée of…

On May 24th, American wine lovers should raise a glass to celebrate the most momentous occasion ever for American wine. I’m referring to “The Judgement of Paris” where a gaggle of California wineries were pitted against the greatest French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy in a blind tasting in the ‘City of Light.’ On that…