Top Five Hidden Wine & Other Treasures

Tweet I am an inflight magazine junkie, scouring the likes of Andrew Zimmern, Mark Bittman, Jason Oliver Nixon and other columnists in pursuit of the next undiscovered gem of a hidden local restaurant, hotel, wine shop, or hedonistic delight. I travel incessantly, coveting new months and issues, flipping to “tips” and “tops” pages with similar [...]

Bottles Restaurant: Wine Lover Oasis in Puerto Rico

Tweet Bottles 5 Tabonuco Street Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00968 (787) 775-1210 or (787) 775-0604 Respectable wine service on the Northern shores of Puerto Rico has been as rare as white Christmases on this Isla del Encanto.  I have exhausted all possibilities over 25 years of habitual Isla Verde retreats.  The hunt turns up poorly stored, warm, [...]

Bayamon and Barrilito: Sultry Escape From Snow and Wine

Tweet Wine Blogging Wednesday Solera of the Caribbean Sea, Papirusa of Puerto Rico, and the Batard of Bayamon, Ron del Barrilito (rum from the little barrel) offers palates predisposed to character-rich wines a welcome midwinter alternative.  Three Fernandez generations have crafted a mysterious, deceptively complex, amber-hued, full flavored rum using the same secret family recipe since 1880.  For full appreciation and escape from frozen tundras, you can visit the Fernandez clan clinging to their [...]

Zen, Hot Dogs, and Albarino

Tweet Yes, as the post’s title reflects, there is wine involved.  But this simple, value infused story of Willy completely transcends the bottle of Rias Baixas  blended white varietals I presented to him a few mornings ago in our annual Christmas gift exchange (I always get his wife’s heavenly spiced papaya dish) on a beach we ritually retreat to near San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the [...]