7 Myths (and Truths) About Olive Oil

WSJ. Magazine

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  The Family Behind Ireland’s Artisanal-Food Renaissance

  Myrtle Allen, the 91-year-old matriarch behind Ballymaloe House—a restaurant, inn and cookery school founded in 1964—has transformed “fine Irish cuisine” from a punch line into a bona fide culinary movement.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  The Real Fast-Food Revolution

  Chefs Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi have founded Loco’l, a new approach to fast food that provides nutritious and delicious fare in some of the country’s poorest neighborhoods.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Davide Oldani of D’O Expands His Empire

  After taking things slow with his affordable, Michelin-star eatery outside Milan, chef Davide Oldani is opening new locations this summer.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Chef Virgilio Martínez Takes Peruvian Cuisine to New Heights

  At his top-ranked Lima restaurant, Central, chef Virgilio Martínez has created a menu devoted to Peru’s most ancient ingredients—and organized by altitude.

• Wine & Spirits

• 

  The Family That Invented Super Tuscan Wines

  The Antinori brothers have released their 2011 vintage, and it’s already showing signs of the family’s bold, seductive signature.

• 

  Ode on Grecian White Wines—a Modern Success Story

  A lone bright star in an ailing economy, Greek white wines have recently become highly favored by American sommeliers and importers, offering a well-priced, bright alternative to your go-to white.

• 

  Common Wine Faults Explained

  From the damp-cardboard smell of a corked bottle to crystals at the bottom of your glass, flawed wine can spring some surprises.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Jim Beam’s Japanese Owners Remix Bourbon Brand

  Suntory needs to boost sales after its pricey acquisition of Jim Beam, so it is pushing bourbon in Japan.

  • Deal Part of Japan’s Global Profit Push

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Sweet Pairings: Some Wine or Beer With Your Dessert?

  Marlo Scott, owner of Sweet Revenge in New York, offers her favorite combinations of dessert and alcohol.

• 

  Why a Scotch’s Age Doesn’t Matter Anymore

  You don’t have to choose your Scotch by the numbers. Increasingly, distillers are dispensing with age statements and focusing on the many other factors that make their spirits sing.

• 

  Frog’s Leap’s John Williams on the Virtues of Merlot

  “Sideways” gave Merlot a bad rap. But Napa Valley winemaker John Williams is making a case for the grape variety with his deliciously complex and restrained red wines.

• 

  Five of the Best Unusual Wines

  The perfect—and most unusual—wines for springtime.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Author Amelia Gray’s Misadventures With Aylesbury Duck Vodka

  The writer concludes that the vodka is something truly new: a drink with teeth, one that tastes remarkably like tequila.

• 

  Château Lafleur Keeps It All in the Family

  The small Pomerol estate, which produces one of the world’s greatest red wines, is one of the few top châteaux still home to the owners’ family.

• 

  Falling in Love With Wine

  Wall Street Journal wine columnist Will Lyons recalls the moment he first fell head over heels for fine wine.

• 

  Bordeaux Futures: What’s The Upside of Buying En Primeur?

  As Bordeaux prepares to unveil its latest vintage, Will Lyons takes a look at the futures market, the subject of much debate.

• 

  The Best Wines to Pair With Chocolate

  Whether you’re a serious wine-lover or passionate about chocolate, it’s worth exploring a marriage of the two.

  • Video

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Top Beer Brands Soon to List Calories

  Carlsberg, Heineken, InBev, SABMiller and others soon will add nutritional labels to their drinks to aid customers making food and drinks choices by calorie count, a European brewers group said.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Poet Matthew Rohrer on Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey

  Poet Matthew Rohrer returns to his youthful adventures in Dublin via a bottle of Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey—and remains in possession of his faculties.

• 

  Top Five Paris Wine Bars

  Paris has always had a good wine scene, as Proust and Hemingway can attest, but in the past decade it’s really boomed as cool new bars à vins and néo-bistrots have added to the traditional cafés. Will Lyons chooses his top five.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Brown-Forman Shows Some Love to Old Forester

  Old Forester bourbon is a brand that time has passed by. But Brown-Forman believes it isn’t too late to revive the long-neglected brand, a sibling of Jack Daniel’s.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Wine Headache? It May Not Be the Sulfites

  Many blame sulfites for their wine headaches. Very likely, the cause is something else.

• 

  Can Brunello Match Bordeaux?

  There’s a feeling in the wine industry that a wave of commercial success is about to hit Montalcino. But can the inconsistent 2010 break through to the mainstream?

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Floral Spirits Deliver a Delightful Bouquet

  Spring may take its time to get here, but these spirits made with flowers offer its blossoms now. Here are five bottles that bring distinctive floral notes to cocktails and steer clear of the cloying sweetness found in some older brands.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Red-Wine Blends Trend: More Than Just Flashy Packaging

  Not all American red blends are cheap, cleverly marketed mixes of grapes that couldn’t make it on their own. Here, the best midprice alternatives to the head-swimming array of single varietals.

• 

  Wines That Greece Can Bank On

  The country may be in a difficult state of affairs, but Greece has an export business with a very bright future—its wines.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  The Historic Portuguese Wine That’s Hip Again

  This complex, food-friendly fortified wine—a favorite of the Founding Fathers—is emerging as a top choice for today’s wine drinkers, too.

• 

  The Golden State of Napa Valley

  Napa has been on a run lately, with three strong vintages, including a 2013 that’s been described by winemakers as “epic.”

• 

  Robert Parker Steps Down From Bordeaux Futures

  Robert M. Parker Jr., widely regarded as the world’s most powerful wine critic, has announced he will no longer taste Bordeaux en primeur.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Michael Paterniti on Alessio Vermouth di Torino Rosso

  Can drinking redeem a lapsed Italian? Author Michael Paterniti goes looking for his lost heritage—with detours through ancient medicine and the cafes of 18th-century Turin—in a bottle of Alessio Vermouth di Torino Rosso.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Plaid to the Bone: Scottish-Style Ales

  Dark but not heavy, complex yet clean-tasting, and labeled with all manner of curious terms, Scottish-style ales remain terra incognita to many stateside craft-beer lovers. Here’s a map.

• 

  A Wine Lover’s Guide to the Oscars

  Got a favorite film vying for this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture? Wall Street Journal wine columnist Will Lyons has a wine to go with it.

  • Wines to Pair With Best Picture Nominees | Complete Oscars Coverage
• 

  Swoon-Worthy Wines for Valentine’s

  From a gorgeous, salmon-pink Champagne to Burgundy’s Les Amoureuses (the Lovers), the perfect wines to celebrate love.

• 

  The Other Great White Wine

  At its best, a fresh, citrusy Semillon provides everything you could wish for in a white wine—and it’s perfect to order by the glass in restaurants.

• 

  $12,800 Bottle of Whisky to Go on Sale in Japan

  Ten bottles of premium single malt Scotch whisky that have been aged for 50 years will go on sale in Japan in March for approximately ¥1.5 million ($12,800) each.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Do Wine Clubs Deliver on Their Promises?

  They market themselves as a source for well-selected, tough-to-find wines at a very good price, but are you better off just chatting up your local wine merchant?

• 

  Who Drives World Wine Consumption?

  A new industry report has revealed how much wine is being produced each year—and who’s drinking it. The findings may surprise you.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  The Chance to Drink a Pint of Chai Tea Milk Stout

  Craft breweries are increasingly hosting special evenings to showcase one-off beer concoctions including unexpected ingredients and flavors such as melon or lemon grass.

• 

  Why 2013 Burgundy Is Better Than Expected

  After stormy weather produced yet another small crop, Burgundy’s 2013 will never be regarded as truly great. But it’s not all bad news. Wall Street Journal wine columnist Will Lyons on the bright spots.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Rare Wines Stolen From French Laundry Restaurant Are Recovered

  Most of an estimated $300,000 worth of rare wines stolen from the famed French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, Calif., on Christmas Day have been recovered across the country in Greensboro, N.C.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Cold Comfort: The Panacea Cocktail

  This winter cocktail recipe combining Scotch, ginger, honey and lemon may not cure your cough. But it sure will make you feel good.

• 

  Is Japanese Whisky Better Than Scotch?

  Japanese whisky is experiencing a purple patch, with some sensational drams that have been highly praised by critics. But can they compete with their Scottish ancestors?