The provided link leads to a Flipboard magazine titled “LIQUOR INDUSTRY NEWS 12-18-25,” curated by Mark Lenzi for The Wonderful World of Wine (WWW).
The collection features several articles from December 18, 2025, covering wine industry controversies, sustainability, regional guides, and festive tips:
San Francisco Wine Competition Controversy: The San Francisco International Wine Competition is facing allegations of including Russian wines, which would potentially violate U.S. law.
Sustainability Re-imagined: Dr. Laura Catena of Domaine EdeM is featured for her work in reframing the sustainability debate, focusing on more than just carbon footprint to include broader environmental and social impacts.
Regional Wine Labels: A piece on Alto Adige discusses the linguistic complexities of its labels (Italian vs. German) and how this cultural history defines the region’s unique winemaking identity.
Consumer Guides: * Toscana Wines: A guide identifying 8 of the best red Toscana wines available for under $30.
Festive Cocktails: A recipe and feature for a “Gingerbread White Russian” as part of a holiday cocktail countdown.
Holiday Maintenance Tip: A warning from plumbers regarding a specific “Christmas drink” (likely cream-based or fat-heavy beverages) that should not be poured down the kitchen sink to avoid expensive emergency repairs.
Matchbook Wines began in the rolling pastures of Dunnigan Hills in 2004. Dunnigan Hills, one of California’s newest AVA’s is located in northern California, east of Napa Valley. It was first planted to grapes in the late 70’s when John and Lane Giguiere returned home from college to save their family’s wheat and sheep farm. Realizing that the wheat market could no longer sustain their farm financially, and that sheep are really not that smart, the couple planted Dunnigan Hill’s original vines. These vines would be the foundation of RH Phillips Winery and the famed Toasted Head Chardonnay. Years after selling the RH Phillips label, John and Lane returned to Dunnigan Hills to begin a new venture: Matchbook Wines.
Matchbook Winery is a small, family owned winery focusing on the production of high-quality, yet affordable wines that rival the world’s best.
Daniel O’Connor began working with John and Lane in 2016, and after years of working for much larger, more corporate wine companies, he has found a home. Dan’s passion for wine began early in the restaurant business as he worked to earn his graduate and undergraduate degrees. He lives in Boston’s North End and represents John and Lane’s interest here on the East Coast.
During our tasting and seminar, We will focus on “Old World Wines in the New World,” discussing the history of the grape varietals that we will taste and their roots in France and their success in California.
Santa Carolina is Carolina Wine Brands’ flagship brand. With a history spanning over 140 years, Viña Santa Carolina was established in 1875 by Luis Pereira, who named it after his wife, Carolina Iñiguez. Located in Santiago, the winery’s facilities and underground cellar are a National Monument and are open to the public at large. With sales in excess of 25 million bottles, Santa Carolina’s wines are available in over 90 countries. In 2015, Santa Carolina celebrated its 140th anniversary and was chosen the New World Winery of the Year by the prestigious American magazine Wine Enthusiast.
Amazing value in wine! We will explore reds and wihites.
About Mark
New England Regional President For Carolina Wine Brands USA
Today, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines includes more than 1,300 acres of cool-climate estate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands regions of Monterey County, with an emphasis on Chardonnay, Riesling, Valdiguié and Pinot Noir, over 2,300 acres in Paso Robles dedicated to Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Sirah and other red varieties, and 33 acres in Napa Valley, highlighting Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc. From this rich and diverse palette of sustainably farmed estate fruit, J. Lohr crafts wines showcasing bold, concentrated flavors and a vibrant sense of place. The winery offers four tiers of award-winning wines – J. Lohr Estates, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Cuvée Series and J. Lohr Gesture
We will explore the J.Lohr Vineyard series wines. Showcases the finest fruits from vineyards in Paso Robles, Monterey County, and Napa Valley. Very limited in production!
An educational adventure while tasting wines and explore labels.
Do you know the truths and lies on the labels?
We will get back to our original club roots at this event. Talking and tasting while giving you tips and tricks.
You will leave a better wine buyer and a little scared!
Whats in that bottle can all learned with a few tips.
The Abruzzo region today is on the cutting edge of grape growing and winemaking in all of Italy. We will talk about the special set of climates and soils that makes Abruzzo unique. We will talk about the grape varieties that have evolved in Abruzzo for over a thousand years. And we will talk about Gianni Masciarelli, the curious skeptic, biological savant, and energy management genius who took Abruzzo from a sleepy wine backwater to the cutting edge.
About Dave:
Dave Abbott began his wine career in 1985 with the Big Y Wine superstore in Northampton, Massachusetts just in time to taste all of the 1982 Classed Growth Bordeaux, and most of the to 1983 Burgundy Premier and Grand Crus. This is when he became vitally interested in the geography, geology, topography, climate, agriculture, history, culture, wine traditions and culinary traditions of the European wine lands. Dave has been liberally overeducated at Dartmouth (BA English 1972), University of Michigan (MA English Language and Literature 1977), and University of Massachusetts (PhD/ABD 19th and 20th Century Novel leaving in 1985). A teacher at heart, Dave has long been fascinated by all the factors that make every wine unique. A salesman by trade, Dave has worked for Consumer Programming Services selling encyclopedias door-to-door in the West Virginia coal fields, as Sales Associate and Italian and German Brands Manager for Big Y Wines, as the founder of Wine Diamonds wine brokerage, for MRR Traders as Western Mass Wholesaler’s Rep, and since 1998 for Masciarelli Wine Company as Western Mass Rep, and later as a Regional Sales Manager. In 2007 Dave became Regional Sales Manager for the imports division of Masciarelli Wine Company serving North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland and Delaware later adding Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon and Northern California. In 2012 Dave also became Masciarelli’s Wine Educator, and Sales Trainer for both the Massachusetts and Florida divisions.. Since 2015 Dave has handled Regional Sales Manager duties for Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Marylnd, DC, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Illinois. Since 2012 he has been National Brand Manager for Valori, Castello di Cacchiano, La Caplana, and the Masciarelli Estate in Abruzo. Summer 2015 marked Dave’s 25th trip to Italy.
Today my business involves making connections with 9 distributors, traveling to 13 states, doing ride-alongs with 85 sales people a year teaching them about the things that make our wines so very special, calling on 1000 retailers and restaurants projecting the voice, character, style and passion of the Masciarelli Wine company and the wine families we represent. Always fascinated by the intricacies of Italian wine, Dave aspires to be the World’s Best Italian Wine Salesman.
The history of Masi is the history of a family and its vineyards in the Venetian regions. The name itself derives from “Vaio dei Masi”, the small valley in Valpolicella acquired by the Boscaini family, who are still its owners now, at the end of the XVIII century.
Today, Sandro Boscaini, company President and Managing Director, runs Masi with the help of his daughter Alessandra, in charge of sales and administration; his son Raffaele, Marketing Manager and
Co-ordinator of the Masi Technical Group and his brother Bruno, Production and Plant Manager. His brother Mario has his own business, but is still part of Masi and an adviser to the management.
Tony Apostolakos comes from a family with a winemaking background, as they originally owned vineyards in Central Greece dating back to the early 1900s before emigration to Montreal in Canada. Tony himself took a degree in Economics at the University of Alberta before entering the wine trade, where he now has over 20 years of experience.
Tony first represented Masi in Canada in 1999 before he switched his attention to the United States market in 2005. He has now been appointed Director of Marketing and Sales in USA for Masi and makes regular trips to company headquarters in Valpolicella, to spend time with the Boscaini family and the Masi Technical Group and ensure he is fully up-to-date with the company’s winemaking techniques and global strategy.
When not travelling inside USA for Masi, Tony resides in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
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