Ambassador David Bruce being knighted in Burgundy (1951 - source USIS)A couple years ago, I wrote a story (Wine Oblivion) about the post-war period which saw the cold war unfold, the then-disastrous economic situation of Burgundy and the nascent use...

Bikers with an attitude at the door of the Biker's ClubDonetsk (Donbass) - drink beer, listen to music, nothing else If young people do like to have a beer together in public parks in Donetsk like elsewhere in Ukraine, that...

Supporters at the new Donetsk stadiumDonetsk, Donbass (Ukraine) In Ukraine like in Russia, drinking in the street is not automaticly associated with disorderly conduct, it's a tradition in a region which never had many pubs or bars and where the...

Wine, vodka and caviar (engraved marble)...Mushketovskoe cemetery, Donetsk, Donbass (Ukraine) Don't be surprised to come occasionnally accross a drunkard or a bum in a Russian or Ukrainian cemetery (I did in one of my cemetery visits this time),...

Soviet Champagne on Lenin Square (Donetsk)Remember the Paris wine tasting of 1976 which was an unexpected shock for the French wine establishment ? For those who forgot the story, let's remind the facts : In a blind wine tasting held...