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TO STAND OUT FROM THE PACK, RESTAURANTS ARE SHAPING THEIR WINE LISTS IN PROVOCATIVE WAYS

BY JIM CLARKE

  Click Here to check out the entire article as it appeared in The Journal.  

Champagne is a portrait in irony. Inarguably an icon of luxury, the liquid itself is more like a silk purse made from a sow’s ear; the now-famous method of nurturing a secondary fermentation in the bottle effectively compensates for the inability of grapes to ripen consistently in the (extremely) cool region. And while the grapes are farmed by thousands of small growers, production remains dominated by a relatively small number of Champagne houses. Champagne has not made headlines since the turn of the century, when fears of a Y2K shortage loomed (and proved unfounded). The price tag led Champagne to lose market share as the Recession played out; but while it has slipped from its 11.4% share of the sparkling wine market in 2005, it has held steady at 8% since 2010, according to IWSR, and posted a 3.5% growth in sales from 2014 to 2015. 

  Click Here to check out the entire article as it appeared in The Journal. 

Harbor Wines is bringing the richness of Eastern European wines to Maryland.  At the helm of this venture is Cristina Tufts, who grew up in Moldova where she learned the art of viniculture. Moldova, a small country that borders Romania and Ukraine, boasts especially fertile soil that makes it ideal for growing some of the world's best grapes.

"My family made wine," Tufts said, during a recent interview with the Beverage Journal. "Therefore, I grew up learning the process.  Ironically though, I never had an appreciation for Moldovan wines until I came to the United States.  Here, I had better access to wines from around the world.  . . . It took leaving Moldova to realize just how good our wine is."

Tufts came to America with a student visa in 2007.  She met and fell in love with Brian Tufts, a U.S. Army officer, and the two were soon married. She eventually returned to her home country and graduated with a Business degree.  "On Brian's first trip to Moldova," she recalled, "he recognized the high quality wines right away.  I remember getting ready for a movie and popcorn, and I opened a bottle of 1987 Codru -- a cab-merlot blend.  After tasting the wine and realizing its vintage, he thought I was crazy for opening such a bottle for anything short of a special occasion or celebration.  I told him I would just run to the corner store and get another bottle.  'We have to figure out how to bring this to the USA!' he exclaimed.  'The price versus quality is unreal!'"