How can something bitter possibly be pleasant? I examined this question in detail in my first book, Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History. The short answer is that everyone experiences taste sensations differently: certain populations and individuals have a higher tolerance for bitterness, and for some people it can translate into a pleasurable sensation. There’s no other way to explain the mania for Fernet. In Argentina, where it is usually consumed as a highball with Coke, two million cases are quaffed each year. There are segments of the American bar community where it is worshipped with reverence. Our profile of Fernet Branca probes some of the reasons.

It has become common for California vintners to proclaim that wine is made in the vineyard, but few of them mean it. Artesa is an exception. The estate was founded by Codorniu Raventos in 1991 as a sparkling wine estate, then rebranded in 1997 as a producer of Carneros Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wines took a huge leap forward with the arrival in 2013 of Ana Diogo-Draper, a Portuguese winemaker who is committed to letting the grapes express themselves. She has brought an Old World sensibility to the creation of wine from New World fruit.

In our weekly roundup of the most interesting food, wine and spirits stories on the web, we looked at the startling fact that one in eight Americans are now alcoholics, reported on a Chipoltle store closed after being overrun by mice, examined the Chinese tourist who paid $10K for a fake shot of 1878 Macallan, and paid tribute to winemaker Pierre Seillan’s 50th vintage.

Here are last week’s posts:

The Phenomenon of Fernet Branca

Glass Half Full: 8/16/2017

Artesa Winery: Spanish Roots, Napa Style