Conversations about product-packaging reduction or your company's pending LEED certification may be harder to swallow over a plate of bluefin tuna or at a restaurant that serves imported bottled water. For those closing eco-deals -- or just keen on being "green" -- Boston is among the more eco-friendly dining destinations.

Italy's Valle d'Aosta region is known among wine lovers mainly for small-production wines. But in recent years it has begun producing unusual new wines from grape varietals that have been saved from extinction.

Rum was the drink of choice for Gen. Washington and his troops. And these days there are no shortage of choices. Eric Felten samples an array of rum of the white variety and offers a recipe for Ti Punch.

Around the world, small companies are now marketing Italian gelato as a delicacy for connoisseurs willing to pay a premium for natural ingredients and in-store pampering.

Drink makers are targeting upscale drinkers with premium mixing options. They are no substitute for cocktails made from scratch, but the tonics and cocktail sodas are the best options overall.

Constellation posted a 50% jump in profit, helped by price increases and higher sales of "branded wines."

The Sloe Gin Fizz is that strange drink that few have actually tasted but whose name almost everyone has heard. It is also an excellent summertime cooler.

It's crazy to buy a leaden American Chardonnay when, for the same price, you can get so many white wines from around the world that are far more pleasing. But here are four reliable American Chardonnays under $20.

Heinz Beck, chef of Michelin three-star restaurant La Pergola, takes a twist on traditional Italian eats. He prepares crispy red mullet with spring herbs and poached egg on amaranth with black truffles.

Preparing green tea is a delicate process that most people get wrong. Rona Tison, senior vice president of Japanese-tea company Ito En, Inc., talks about how to brew the perfect pot.

With approval for U.S. restaurants to serve bellota ham around the corner, Raymond Sokolov went to Canada to try the world's best and costliest cold cut. Was it worth the trip?

At a Manhattan restaurant recently, we saw a wine by the glass that we just had to try: 2006 Seven Hills Riesling from Washington's Columbia Valley.

Chef André Soltner and two cookware junkies tested celebrity-chef branded pots and pans, a growing niche of the roughly $2 billion U.S. cookware market. What they found: a star endorsement doesn't always mean stellar cookware.

The world's smelliest fruit may now also be the most expensive. Adored by Southeast Asians and Chinese, the durian sends most foreigners fleeing, thanks to its unmistakable odor. The only thing about the durian more striking than the smell is the price: $200 for a prized specimen.

What's in a name? Some drink recipes go by several. Perhaps none have gone by more monikers than that happy summertime mix of cranberry juice, vodka and lime.