Author Archives: intoxreport

Barefoot: Fizzy Wine For Toe-Jam Barbie

Posted on October 15, 2014 by intoxreport

There’s a common misconception among you readers that being a wine writer is nothing but free chicks and playing the guitar on the MTV, but I challenge the most cynical of you to explain to me exactly how hauling a heavy case … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Tony Ciccone: Papa Can Too Preach

Posted on October 7, 2014 by intoxreport

I wonder if when Tony’s kids were small, they used to say, “Papa, tell us the dead cat story again!!” Actually, you probably know at least one of Tony’s kids—pretty well, too—but  enough about that for now.  I’m of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, MIDWEST | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Getting Your Goat At Traverse City’s Baddest Bodega

Posted on October 3, 2014 by intoxreport

Long ago and far away, no circumambulation of Northern Michigan wine country was complete without a didactic pit-stop at the odd blue shop wedged between Peninsula Drive and E. Front Street. There, surrounded by a cornucopia of bottles from distant … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL, Michigan | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

I’m Too Good For Wine Reviews

Posted on October 1, 2014 by intoxreport

You know, sometimes, when the lights outside grow dim and the walls of my room start closing in, it occurs to me that despite having written more than two million words on wine over the years, and four hundred columns on … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Warren Raftshol: Peripheral Persistence

Posted on September 29, 2014 by intoxreport

Whenever I stop in to see old Warren Raftshol in Leelanau’s answer to Area 51, I’m sort of overwhelmed; I feel both wildly lonely and strangely optimistic. He hangs on inside his wayward depot despite the odds, and Warren—whose sculpted … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, MIDWEST | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

White Chicks Are Hotter Than Black Chicks

Posted on September 25, 2014 by intoxreport

Or is it the other way around?  I really don’t care; I am just trying to get your attention, fill column inches, make deadlines and stir up a little bad blood, because you know what?  I’m a bad blood stirrer-upper. … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Primitivo: A Gentle Giant

Posted on September 21, 2014 by intoxreport

Having lived through the zinfandel vetting process, I can say unequivocally that I like some of the a.k.a.’s better than others, and maybe primitivo best of all. Back in primitive times—that is to say, prior to the advent of genetic … Continue reading →

Posted in BY VARIETAL, ITALY, Zinfandel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gérard Depardieuchebag

Posted on September 19, 2014 by intoxreport

First off, I don’t buy it: The bizarre claim made by French luné-toon Gérard Depardieu about drinking fourteen bottles of wine a day has been greeted with a combination of awe, back-slapping, high-fiving, hero worship and a little bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Inside The Scatterbrain Of Sean O’Keefe

Posted on September 18, 2014 by intoxreport

(Part One of a two part interview with Chateau Grand Traverse VP Sean O’Keefe; both parts appear in Heart & Soil: Grand Traverse Wine Country, set for release Dec., 2014) ‘Scatterbrain’ is his word, not mine.  Actually, Sean O’Keefe is … Continue reading →

Posted in Michigan, Old Mission Peninsula, Riesling | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

To Be Or Tannat To Be: That’s The Question

Posted on September 11, 2014 by intoxreport

Tannat is a wine geek’s grape, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.  Like cult films or cult bands, tannat is often dug for its brooding obscurity or transgressive potency more than for any sense of down-home approachableness. Nonetheless, like … Continue reading →

Posted in FRANCE | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment