Wine Enthusiast Magazine May 2022

Jacqueline Strum EDITOR & PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lauren Buzzeo TASTING DIRECTOR Alexander Peartree CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marco Turelli DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR Julia Lea EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR, DIGITAL Emily Saladino SENIOR EDITOR, DIGITAL Dylan Garret DIGITAL EDITOR Kristen Richard ASSISTANT EDITOR, DIGITAL J’nai Gaither ASSISTANT EDITOR, PRINT Jacy Topps DIGITAL EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jaime Brown DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Monica Simon DIGITAL DESIGNER Eric DeFreitas VISUALS PRODUCER Jesse Reiter ASSOCIATE PHOTO PRODUCER Tom Arena TASTING ASSISTANT TASTING DIRECTOR Fiona Adams SENIOR TASTING COORDINATOR Craig Chamberlain ASSISTANT TASTING COORDINATOR Cody Wexler SOCIAL DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA Elyse Estrella SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST Marco Bruno COMMUNITY COORDINATOR Ruya Kirac CONTRIBUTING EDITORS EUROPEAN EDITOR Roger Voss ITALIAN EDITOR Kerin O’Keefe WINE Virginie Boone, Mike DeSimone, Jim Gordon, Paul Gregutt, Anna Lee C. Iijima, Jeff Jenssen, Matt Kettmann, Christina Pickard, Michael Schachner, Sean P. Sullivan, Jesica Vargas, Aleksandar Zecevic SPIRITS Kara Newman BEER John Holl FOOD Nils Bernstein TRAVEL Lauren Mowery EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING Greg Remillard ADVERTISING DIRECTOR…

This month, we turn to a cultural phenomenon we could all use a little bit more of—the balanced lifestyle. Being fascinated by and enjoying the pleasures of wine is all well and good, but when should we pause and look at our habits holistically? Perhaps that means drinking differently, drinking less or taking a second look at where our next pour comes from. Everyone knows the old adage that life is all about balance. In this issue, we dive into exactly what that means in the modern landscape of today’s beverage shelves. To start, Contributing Editors Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen address a hot-button ingredient that’s in many of the goods we consume—sugar. It’s impossible to ignore the key role that sugar plays in wine, especially in the low- or no-alcohol beverage…

Contrary to decades of common medical advice, media coverage of beer, wine and spirits periodically hype the so-called “health benefits” of alcohol. Such stories may suggest that red wine can help you live longer, that one beer a day is good for your heart, or that a Champagne diet is a great way to lose weight. What makes such seemingly counterintuitive advice so popular? “Humans are susceptible to something called confirmation bias, in that we tend to believe information that supports our current beliefs,” says Dr. Jessica Myrick, associate professor at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, who studies media and consumer emotions. “So, if you already like to drink alcohol and have convinced yourself it is healthy, you will be happy to see more information that supports that view.” That…

A symbol of ’70s and ’80s suburban culture, wine spritzers have a rich history. As Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau note in their 2016 book, Spritz, some believe the spritzer started as a way for beer-loving Austro-Hungarian soldiers based in the northeast of Italy to dilute the region’s wine with a “spritz” of still water, a term derived from the German spritzen, meaning “to spray.” “[But it] doesn’t really become the modern spritz until it gains its now-inseparable sparkle,” they wrote. The easy-drinking wine spritzer as we now largely know it really began in the early 1800s, when soda siphons that dispensed seltzer were developed. Italians soon added their native wine-based aperitifs and bitter liqueurs to the mix as well, leading to drinks like the iconic Aperol Spritz. Today, bartenders are modernizing spritzers…

The Roman poets Ovid and Virgil extolled its virtues as an aphrodisiac two millennia ago, but this brash green known as rucola in Italy and rocket among non-U.S. English speakers is a relative newcomer to American palates. Although arugula was brought to America by early European immigrants, it wasn’t until the 1990s that it gained culinary popularity. Added judiciously among lettuces in salad, it lends so much peppery personality that salad dressing is hardly needed, but it is revelatory when cooked. Try it stir-fried as you would spinach or chard, or even tucked into grilled cheese or a tuna melt. Choose a wine that won’t compete but will instead play with whatever side of arugula’s character you prefer. SPICY The hallmark of arugula is a peppery spice, much like watercress. Carmenère is…

Cocktails are a fantastic way to introduce saké to imbibers. Bartenders often incorporate saké into cocktails because it can breathe new life into classic drinks and introduce the category to those who might not have tried it on its own. Both clear and cloudy varieties are used to make delicious concoctions. In clear saké, its fermented solids have been completely removed from the liquid, leaving it free of sediment. With cloudy saké, also known as nigori, dissolved rice sediment is reintegrated into the clear saké which creates a rich, creamy mouthfeel. Nigori can help round out cocktails with sweet, sour or savory notes, especially useful for guests with dairy-free diets. “One of my favorite nigori cocktails includes gin, white vermouth, a hint of citrus and an herb sprig,” says Tiffanie Barriere, bartender at…