On Press - Brandywine Book of the Seasons

The Brandywine Region, whose centerpiece is the lovely and bucolic Brandywine River, encompasses northern Delaware and much of Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is a region rich in history, natural beauty and a wealth of interesting and creative people who grow produce, shape artisan foods, make fine wines, open restaurants that serve truly great locally based foods, raise horses, paint and sculpt, and in general make the Brandywine a great place to live or visit. The Brandywine Book of the Seasons opens the door to this region and its people who share with us their stories and their foods through a wealth of recipes, both plain and fancy. The book goes to press tomorrow - August 22. Wish us a speedy run. Books available in September.

Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe?

This spring, Ella and I spent several great days in Santa Fe. In addition to being a few pounds heavier and several dollars lighter, the trip and others before provided information for my "Destination: Santa Fe" article which appears in the September issue of Wine Enthusiast. Above, one of the murals in Cafe Pasquale.

This September - Brandywine Book of the Seasons

This September, Ella and I will publish a new book - The Brandywine Book of the Seasons. It's a cookbook with a story, or, rather, several stories, for it combines tales and 45 recipes from some of the best chefs in our area of southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware as well as those of our friends who make wine, bake bread, herd sheep, age cheeses, grow vegetables and are dyed-in-the-linen foodies. The book is in living color with dozens of Ella's best shots, printed on 140 pages of quality stock - a perfect holiday gift for families and friends. Beginning October 1, the books can be ordered in bookstores and online via Partners East distributors, or you can drop us a line at londonbritain@msn.com for more information. We believe you can tell a book by its cover - and here's ours:

My First Article in Polish

Magazyn Wino is considered Poland's best wine journal, and I met one of its editors during a wine trip in Burgundy earlier this year. One thing led to another, and soon I was writing an article for the publication about the April tasting of 2011 Bordeaux barrel samples. Managing editor Pawel Bravo did the translation.

Is Malbec the Prodigal Grape?

In Between the Covers

I love writing for the Web - reviewing new wine releases for The Daily Meal, posting wine and food essays to my iSante' blog, being managing editor and lead writer for Sommelier News - but magazines remain my first love. So I was very pleased when I returned home from a 10-day reporting trip to Portugal and Bordeaux to discover two new issues of magazines I write for had arrived on my desk. Not only did I have articles in them, the pieces proved to also have cover appeal. Writer's Digest had a cover blurb on my "Learn to Be Creative on Demand" article, while the beautifully designed regional magazine, The Hunt, featured my piece on "Garden-to- Glass Drinks" as the cover illustration. (Inside, there is an additional story on shad returning - almost - to the Brandywine River.) Both covers are copied below, plus I've added the first page of my "Learn to Be Creative" article to possibly entice you to go out and buy a copy at your local newstand.

It All Started with Artisanal Moonshine...

Just published in the British journal, The Drinks Business,is my story on how American craft distilling got its start and a look at where it may be going.