WINE ARCHIVE — Michael Braverman

For a merchant selling bottles that are breathtakingly expensive or merely a little extravagant, the right surroundings count. One store created a space dedicated to indulgence.

May 29

May 29 For a merchant selling bottles that are breathtakingly expensive or merely a little extravagant, the right surroundings count. One store created a space dedicated to indulgence.

Michael Braverman

Globetrotting cabernet franc: revered in the Loire region, with an illustrious history, this grape is finding a perfectly proper and fitting home on Long Island. Comme il faut.

May 14

May 14 Globetrotting cabernet franc: revered in the Loire region, with an illustrious history, this grape is finding a perfectly proper and fitting home on Long Island. Comme il faut.

Michael Braverman

*An aspirational and opulent Beaux Art setting in New York City, sipping some inspired wines, eating heavenly food, and catching up with my drinking buddies at the Windows on Long Island tasting.

May 5

May 5 *An aspirational and opulent Beaux Art setting in New York City, sipping some inspired wines, eating heavenly food, and catching up with my drinking buddies at the Windows on Long Island tasting.

Michael Braverman

Leaving behind nostalgia for empire, one internationally oriented Austrian winery goes modern, in its building and its outlook. These sophisticated wines have arrived in the Hamptons.

May 1

May 1 Leaving behind nostalgia for empire, one internationally oriented Austrian winery goes modern, in its building and its outlook. These sophisticated wines have arrived in the Hamptons.

Michael Braverman

The vade mecum of second labels: like their famous siblings they vary in price and quality. But if you hit it right you’ll score a classic French Bordeaux at a showboating price.

Apr 17

Apr 17 The vade mecum of second labels: like their famous siblings they vary in price and quality. But if you hit it right you’ll score a classic French Bordeaux at a showboating price.

Michael Braverman

Further guidance to second labels: the frisson of seeing a name like Lafite or Latour or Haute Brion on the bottle and what you should (cautiously) expect in your glass.

Apr 17

Apr 17 Further guidance to second labels: the frisson of seeing a name like Lafite or Latour or Haute Brion on the bottle and what you should (cautiously) expect in your glass.

Michael Braverman

You can find sublimity in a bottle of Romanee-Conti. But most pinot noir wines are far more elusive. Why this grape, problematical and difficult to grow, can produce pure silk.

Mar 13

Mar 13 You can find sublimity in a bottle of Romanee-Conti. But most pinot noir wines are far more elusive. Why this grape, problematical and difficult to grow, can produce pure silk.

Michael Braverman

Celebrating women chefs and opening the kitchen doors for more of them: at one of 80 benefit dinners across the country. Now, let’s encourage more women winemakers.

Mar 7

Mar 7 Celebrating women chefs and opening the kitchen doors for more of them: at one of 80 benefit dinners across the country. Now, let’s encourage more women winemakers.

Michael Braverman

One from the Languedoc, one from Tuscany, one from California. How three recommendations from one retailer stacked up. And how they tasted after a day or two.

Mar 2

Mar 2 One from the Languedoc, one from Tuscany, one from California. How three recommendations from one retailer stacked up. And how they tasted after a day or two.

Michael Braverman

Wines for oysters: the classics prevail but there is room—just a tiny bit of room as long as you don’t go haywire—to diverge

Mar 1

Mar 1 Wines for oysters: the classics prevail but there is room—just a tiny bit of room as long as you don’t go haywire—to diverge

Michael Braverman

It’s just local little wine shop. But it stocks some of the most sought after wines in the world and its inventory is worth millions. There’s a philosophy behind it all.

Dec 18

Dec 18 It’s just local little wine shop. But it stocks some of the most sought after wines in the world and its inventory is worth millions. There’s a philosophy behind it all.

Michael Braverman

Focus on the flute: French Champagne, American sparkling wine, Italian Spumante, Spanish Cava, German Sekt. I attended a master class with bubbles of many nationalities.

Dec 2

Dec 2 Focus on the flute: French Champagne, American sparkling wine, Italian Spumante, Spanish Cava, German Sekt. I attended a master class with bubbles of many nationalities.

Michael Braverman

How Nigella Lawson inspired me to greater things, or at least provoked some thoughtful wine pairings

Dec 1

Dec 1 How Nigella Lawson inspired me to greater things, or at least provoked some thoughtful wine pairings

Michael Braverman

The winemaking culture on Long Island: style, savoir-faire, superb sipping and gastronomic delights. All at a barrel tasting at Peconic Bay Winery.

Nov 24

Nov 24 The winemaking culture on Long Island: style, savoir-faire, superb sipping and gastronomic delights. All at a barrel tasting at Peconic Bay Winery.

Michael Braverman

A change of scenery: our vast landscape of potato fields has gone but at least some agricultural land is preserved with grapevines. And very often it’s the merlot grape. Why?

Nov 11

Nov 11 A change of scenery: our vast landscape of potato fields has gone but at least some agricultural land is preserved with grapevines. And very often it’s the merlot grape. Why?

Michael Braverman

The sheer chance of geography and the dedication of a winemaking family: unexpected on Long Island, a sumptuous cabernet sauvignon.

Nov 11

Nov 11 The sheer chance of geography and the dedication of a winemaking family: unexpected on Long Island, a sumptuous cabernet sauvignon.

Michael Braverman

Slow Food and its accompanying gustatory pleasures finds a natural home with the agricultural traditions of Eastern Long Island

Nov 1

Nov 1 Slow Food and its accompanying gustatory pleasures finds a natural home with the agricultural traditions of Eastern Long Island

Michael Braverman

I asked a shopkeeper for wine recommendations matched to hypothetical menus. (Maybe not so hypothetical if you spend quality time in the kitchen.) The suggestions were on target.

Oct 21

Oct 21 I asked a shopkeeper for wine recommendations matched to hypothetical menus. (Maybe not so hypothetical if you spend quality time in the kitchen.) The suggestions were on target.

Michael Braverman

Sizing up the wine list at a top East Hampton restaurant. It is large, sometimes redundant and not always balanced. But still quite impressive, especially for the deep pocketed.

Oct 7

Oct 7 Sizing up the wine list at a top East Hampton restaurant. It is large, sometimes redundant and not always balanced. But still quite impressive, especially for the deep pocketed.

Michael Braverman

My image of a wine purveyor is low tech: a traditional shop with a highly knowledgeable salesperson. Buying online is a totally different experience but definitely has its place.

Oct 1

Oct 1 My image of a wine purveyor is low tech: a traditional shop with a highly knowledgeable salesperson. Buying online is a totally different experience but definitely has its place.

Michael Braverman