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FoodPrint •

How we came to rely on emergency food

Despite being one of the world’s richest countries, the United States is far from immune to hunger. According to Feeding America, 49 million people, or one in six Americans, depended on charitable food assistance programs, including food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens, in 2022 to feed themselves and their families. And while more recent data isn’t as detailed, it’s clear that inflation and wage stagnation have taken a toll, with food insecurity numbers looking worse in 2023 than they did...
Vintner Project •

What Does It Mean To Be Tattooed In The Wine Industry Today?

It wasn’t long ago that having a tattoo made one virtually unhirable in most professions, but times are quickly changing: tattoo stigma is on the decline.But what about the wine industry? On one hand, it’s a magnet for creative people, many of whom probably consider themselves to have a hedonistic streak. At the same time, the wine industry is deeply traditional, which means it can be slow to change.I talked to several tattooed wine professionals to answer the question: What does it mean to be t...
Paste Magazine •

The Cool Kids Are Drinking Merlot

In the world of wine, there are grapes that fall into and out of fashion from time to time. When a wine grape falls out of fashion, wines made from that grape often see a slump in sales, so much so that, in some cases, wineries decide to pull out their vines to experiment with different, more lucrative grapes.
Until recently, Merlot was one of those wine grapes that seemed to have fallen from grace; it became known as a bland, unimpressive wine that paled in comparison to its richer, more fuller...
FoodPrint •

Are natural flavors better than artificial?

“Flavor comes from millions and millions of chemicals inherent in our food and drink,” says Catherine Piccoli, curatorial director at the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn, New York. Each of these is able to “trigger our chemical senses,” she says — “smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing.”
Flavor chemicals can be found in whole foods, like fruit, vegetables and meat. But food scientists can also play with them and find new ways of deriving them to help companies create processed foods like dill...
FoodPrint •

Meet muscadines, the native grapes of the southern U.S.

Typically, muscadine wines (not to be confused with the similarly named muscadet, a vinifera grape, or moscato, made with a vinifera variety called muscat) are made in a sweeter style, although some producers are experimenting with drier styles to appeal to a wider audience. These wines — sweet or dry — tend to be deeply aromatic, and they have a ripeness to them that avowed vinifera drinkers may not find immediately appealing. “It’s a rustic grape, and it kind of has some rough edges on it,” Co...
Vintner Project •

The Rise of Still Varietal Meunier

When William Allen, co-owner and winemaker at Two Shepherds Wine in Windsor, California, drinks Champagne, he’s looking past the Chardonnay- and Pinot Noir-dominated blends. “If I’m buying Champagne, I’m looking for, ideally, 100% Meunier.” And he’s not alone. Long considered a less-important blending grape in Champagne, Meunier-based bubbly is now getting its moment in the limelight. “Everybody I talk to in wine geek circles… Meunier is always the thing [people want]. I think that trend is defi...
Thrillist •

Rainforest Cafe and the Enduring Appeal of Experiential Chain Restaurants

In May 2022, two YouTubers crossed the country to take on a culinary quest for the ages. Eddy Burback and Ted Nivison planned to visit the 18 remaining Rainforest Cafes in the U.S. and Canada over the course of 21 days. Starting in California, they trek across the wide expanse of North America to sample the restaurant chain’s beef lava nachos and safari fries. The duo seem to have very different experiences: Burback appears downtrodden, disillusioned by his suburban, jungle-themed environs; whil
Eater Atlanta •

The Pivotal Role Wine Shops Are Playing in Creating Atlanta’s Wine Scene

Atlanta’s restaurant scene is booming, but for those who choose where to eat according to the wine list, it still feels like something is missing: wine bars.

“I feel like we have no wine bars here,” says Chris McLloyd, known as The Hip Hop Somm. He isn’t wrong. While there are plenty of restaurants with fantastic wine lists, Atlanta lacks true wine bars. Following the closure of 8ARM and its natural wine bar on Ponce de Leon Avenue, many wine drinkers continue to search for the beating heart of
Food52 •

These Chefs Are Giving Fish Eggs a Fresh Rebrand

It was the summer of 2021 when I first became a caviar evangelist. I had tried it before and enjoyed the oily, buttery texture, the slight, elegant fishiness, the pop of the eggs as they burst on my tongue, but the price point—and everything the price point seemed to suggest—turned me off. Caviar’s lack of accessibility and its stuffiness seemed unappealing and out of place in the same kitchen where I scarfed my 2 a.m. McDonald’s after a night out.
FoodPrint •

Lowering wine’s carbon footprint starts with the bottle

If you’re looking for a sustainably produced wine at the bottle shop or grocery store, you’ll probably encounter an array of sustainability terms — organic, biodynamic, natural. It’s important to familiarize yourself with what these claims mean (and what certifications are available to corroborate them). But if you’re truly interested in buying sustainable wine, the intricacies of what happens in the vineyard can’t be the only considerations. Although fertilizers, irrigation and pesticides all p
Vintner Project •

The Rare Parent Grape of Chardonnay, Gouais Blanc, Lives On

Tucked into a half-acre of the Willamette Valley resides a viticultural legend, a genetic insurance policy for grape-growers, and a time capsule of grape production. It’s a wine grape that’s responsible for shaping the wine world we live in today, and yet, it goes largely unnoticed, ignored, banished to the annals of viticultural history. It’s Gouais Blanc, the parent grape of over 80 of the most well-known Vitis vinifera varieties in the world. And, with the help of Björnson Vineyard, it’s find
Modern Farmer •

Offaly Delicious: Can the US Learn to Love Organ Meats Again?

If you want to eat more sustainably, the answer seems obvious, according to researchers at the University of Oxford: Go vegan—or at least eat vegetarian as much as possible. Avoid animal products. Get your protein and your iron and your B12 elsewhere. Stock your fridge with tofu, tempeh and beans, and forgo the trip to the meat counter at your local grocery store completely.

Experts agree that limiting meat consumption or avoiding it altogether is the best way for individuals to reduce agricult
Food52 •

What It Takes to Become a Coffee ‘Sommelier’

It may be 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but the room is filled with the aromas of freshly brewed coffee. You try to block out the noise of your colleagues slurping brown liquid from spoons dipped over and over again into nondescript white mugs as you struggle to distinguish the variety of flavors and acids in your own cups. You’re nervous, you’re over-caffeinated, and you feel your palate giving out on you. “It's like swimming in a sea of lemon juice—with your mouth open!—which makes it very diffe
Paste Magazine •

An Interview with Sari Shryack of Not Sorry Art on Her Gilded 'Junk Food' Series

I spoke with painter Sari Shryack of Not Sorry Art about her gilded “junk food” series. In this series, the Austin-based artist places her paintings of iconic “junk foods” from the ‘90s and early 2000s, from Cosmic Brownies to Cheetos to Mountain Dew, against colorful patterned backdrops set in sparkling gold frames. The pieces draw on her and her loved ones’ experiences with food as they grew up below the poverty line and ask us to view foods commonly associated with poverty in a new light. Thi
VinePair •

It’s About Time We Give Up Glass Wine Bottles

Sustainability is a buzzword in every industry, but when it’s used in reference to wine, there’s an immediate association with organic vineyards, biodynamics, and the ever-elusive concept of “natural” wine. Until recently, every time I carried my clanging, beautifully labeled bottles from the nearest natural wine shop home in my canvas tote, I would revel in my eco-friendliness knowing that I had avoided the mass-produced juice...
Paste Magazine •

Georgian Winemakers Are Paying the Price of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

As war rages in Ukraine, alcohol sales have been halted in many cities as citizens have traded nights spent at cocktail bars with friends for nights spent huddling in crowded bomb shelters. Some Ukrainian wineries are now forgoing wine production and instead using their resources to bottle Molotov cocktails. And since war has not yet been stretched into NATO territory, some may assume that drastic changes to the wine industry stop at the Ukrainian border....