Author Archives: James Sligh

‘There’s a crack in everything’ [PLAYLIST]

I’ve had a hard time writing, even thinking, retrospectively about this year. In so many ways, it’s because 2020 isn’t really ending on December 31st. For wine folks like me, this year has been defined by a pandemic that is not just ongoing, but worse in the United States than it’s ever been; by theContinue reading “‘There’s a crack in everything’ [PLAYLIST]”

Green Spain

Verdant, and green, and mild, we’re a long way away, literally and figuratively, from the sangría/bullfight/flamenco/paella Spain that lives in a lot of our imaginations. From the French border on the Bay of Biscay to the fractal Atlantic-facing coastline of Galicia, this is a land of cod fisheries and sidrerías, bagpipes and runes carved inContinue reading “Green Spain”

Aligoté Has Terroir

“In the past, aligoté was planted at the top of Chambertin! Musigny blanc was half aligoté! It was half of Corton! After phylloxera, most replanted with easier-to-grow chardonnay and put aligoté on the other side of the road where no one ever planted anything but carrots and potatoes. This was the sad story of ruined aligoté.” [Laurent Ponsot, to Alice Feiring]