Author: John Brown

In just a few days, many of you will rush to your local purveyors of fine wine and purchase the first commercially available bottle of wine from the 2026 vintage. Beaujolais Nouveau , made from the gamay grape, is always released on the fourth Thursday of November which this year falls on the 19th. In…

As an American with Italian roots, I was proud and happy to observe last weekend’s Columbus Day celebration. According to Wikipedia, the Italian diaspora to the United States totaled 5.5 million immigrants between the late 19th century and 2005, with most of them immigrating from the 1880’s until about 1920. I also assumed that more…

It’s harvest season in the northern hemisphere and that means exciting times for this West Virginia Wino because soon our small group of amateur winemakers will be both bottling last year’s wine which is in the barrel, and then shortly thereafter we will receive this year’s California grapes to crush and ferment. This year our…

I’ve never been one to abide by conventional wine dictums – those inelastic rules created more than a century ago by a bevy of rich old men smoking pipes in their exclusive ‘members only’ clubs as if these principles were etched in stone by Bacchus and presented to them. The first commandment was probably: “Thou…

When summertime temperatures exceed 80 degrees in the always naturally air-conditioned mountains of Tucker County, residents begin to get concerned because most folks don’t have air conditioning. I am one of those (part time ) residents and when the temperature reached 85 on the 4th of July our picnic seemed to be in jeopardy since…

In West By Golly Virginia, I have been given the moniker by friends and foes alike as THE State Wino. Of course, I wear that designation as a badge of honor. So, it always comes as a shock and embarrassment when folks consider me a wine expert. I suppose my aversion to the acceptance of…

As a veteran on Memorial Day, I’ll say a prayer for my fallen brothers and sisters in arms and then succumb to the more pedestrian way of recognizing the upcoming holiday as the unofficial start of summertime. And since I am avowed and unrepentant hedonist, just about any reason to celebrate sets off a series…

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…