by Monte Belmonte | Jun 7, 2021 | Articles, Featured
Rosé is not a grape. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at a party or restaurant and someone asks me, “Would you like a rosé?” That question is the functional equivalent of “would you like white wine?” The answer to both questions is “yes.” Follow up questions:...
by Monte Belmonte | Mar 2, 2021 | Articles, Featured
I’ve been obsessively watching kung fu movies. I’m not sure why. Perhaps the reason is related to the pandemic. It could be a midlife crisis, or it could be the aftereffects of binge-watching “Cobra Kai.” Regardless, it’s made me think a lot about the mastery of an...
by Monte Belmonte | Dec 10, 2020 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
Almost from day one of the pandemic lockdown, Sharon Swihart has been living with the irony — and a little bit of guilt — that, as a wine manager, she is an “essential worker.” “My life has not changed at all in the pandemic’s wake,” says Swihart, the wine buyer at...
by Monte Belmonte | May 14, 2020 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
“You like hip-hop? First you got Chardonnay…it’s like the granddaddy of wine. It’s versatile, smooth…it’s like the Jay-Z of wine. This is how Elijah, played by Mamudou Athie, describes wine in the new Netflix movie Uncorked. It follows Elijah on his...
by Monte Belmonte | Apr 22, 2020 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Monte Belmonte Wines
You may have recently seen the New York Times story about the anglicized version of the Finnish word kalsarikannit. The translation, and the trending hashtag that goes with it, is #pantsdrunk. It’s part of the Finnish of knowing you’re going nowhere, taking your...