Jun 25th, 2007 · By the end of last year, Voxtrot was a known quantity without having signed to a label or released a full-length CD. But that changed with the release of the band's self-titled debut. On it, Voxtrot crafts 11 catchy and memorable songs, buoyed by tasteful strings and piano.
Apr 28th, 2007 · At a bland building in suburban New Jersey, Gary Vaynerchuk is demystifying the wine world. Through Wine Library TV -- an almost daily Web broadcast of wine tastings from his store -- Vaynerchuk hopes to put people at ease when they choose a bottle of vino.
Apr 23rd, 2007 · For more than 30 years, foreign editor Loren Jenkins has returned to La Chiusa in the Tuscan hill town of Montefollonico for conviviality and fine Italian cuisine. Try the tasting menu of small plates -- and try to stay the night, he advises.
Jan 2nd, 2007 · In some quarters this past holiday season, a popular gift was an elegant bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. In Italy, it's the season for the olive harvest. Workers are busy in the Tuscan countryside producing what has been called "liquid gold."
Jan 1st, 2007 · The year in culture had a little of everything, from the scintillating to the truly tasteless -- and every moment was dutifully available on You Tube. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and guests take a look back on the year in culture, and a look ahead to 2007.
Nov 17th, 2006 · As long as you can remember, that famous San Francisco bridge was called the Golden Gate. Now the name could be changing. Despite toll collections, the bridge is losing money. So officials are considering corporate sponsorships. It could eventually be the Wells Fargo Golden Gate Bridge. Or the Wal-Mart Golden Gate Bridge. Or the Wendy's Golden Gate Bridge, or the McDonald's Golden Arches Bridge. Officials insist they'll do something tasteful.
May 29th, 2006 · Thirty years ago in Paris, a publicity stunt for a wine shop started a revolution for the Napa Valley. In 1976, a blind tasting pitted the best wines from France against wines from California -- and the Californian wines won.
Mar 6th, 2006 · Eef Barzelay knows how to mix humor and heartbreak. As leader of the band Clem Snide, he's sung from the perspective of folk-pop lightweight Jewel and conspiracy theorist David Icke, and he's concocted cello-tinged odes to the music of Nick Drake, the uncertainty of the future, and a life spent wasting away on the couch.