I'm a life-long resident of Massachusetts, a licensed attorney, and have been involved in food and wine writing for about 18 years. My food & drink blog, The Passionate Foodie reached its 17th Anniversary in May 2024, and currently includes over 5,400 articles on a myriad of topics, from restaurant reviews to food rants, from wine reviews to Sake articles, from spirit reviews to historical information.
In addition, I've written a food & wine column for the Stoneham Sun newspaper and have been published in other periodicals, including the Beverage Media, Drink Me, Boston Scene, North End Scene, and the Valley Patriot. Plus, I've been a freelance contributor to the Medford Patch and Melrose Patch. I've also written a freelance column for the Sampan, New England's only bilingual Chinese/English newspaper.
Wine Education:
--I am a Certified Spanish Wine Educator, having also visited Spain three times, including the Canary Islands, Sherry region, Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Rioja region, Priorat region and more.
--I am a Certified Sake Professional and currently teach sake education classes, hold sake tastings and dinners, consult with restaurants, and am available for hire for all types of sake events.
--I am a Certified Wine Location Specialist, which concentrates on the Champagne and Port regions, especially on terroir issues, and I have visited both the Champagne region and the Douro River region of Portugal. I am capable of leading classes, tastings, dinners and more on Champagne and Port.
I've also been inducted as a Cavaleiro in the Confraria do Vinho do Porto, a Knight in the Brotherhood of Port Wine, an honor bestowed upon me for my ardent promotion and support of Port wine.
My travels outside the U.S. have brought me to Croatia (Dalmatia, Istria, Slavonia), England (London & surrounding areas), France (Bordeaux and Champagne), Spain (various regions, including Rioja, Ribera del Douro, Penedes, Jerez and the Canary Islands), Portugal (Porto and the Douro), Italy (Tuscany and Collio), Canada (from Nova Scotia to Vancouver), Argentina and Chile. Domestically, my food and wine travels have brought me to places including all of New England, New York, Maryland, Virginia, California, Oregon and Washington.
I've judged several different food competitions, from the East Cambridge Rib Fest to, most recently, a Japanese Sushi contest that was filmed for Japanese TV.
For five consecutive years, I won awards for my coverage of the Seafood Expo North America and was also chosen as one of the Gulf Coast Seafood's Top 100 Seafood Bloggers.
I have written a series of supernatural thrillers, the Tipsy Sensei series. Currently consisting of three novels and four short stories, the series centers on a Boston area Sake expert who learns that the supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore are real. Using ancient Japanese legends, I place them into contemporary Boston, and am currently working on the next novel in the series.
I'm also a contributing author to The New Single Malt Whiskey. My original research, expanding the known History of Pechuga Mezcal, was referenced in a new book on Mezcal. In addition, my original research on the History of Sake Breweries in the U.S. was referenced in a Sake Brewing Journal in Japan.
You can contact me through email at ubarluther@aol.com
My mailing/shipping address:
Richard Auffrey
The Passionate Foodie
200F Main Street, Suite 332
Stoneham, MA 02180
781-608-3494
My travels outside the U.S. have brought me to Croatia (Dalmatia, Istria, Slavonia), England (London & surrounding areas), France (Bordeaux and Champagne), Spain (various regions, including Rioja, Ribera del Douro, Penedes, Jerez and the Canary Islands), Portugal (Porto and the Douro), Italy (Tuscany and Collio), Canada (from Nova Scotia to Vancouver), Argentina and Chile. Domestically, my food and wine travels have brought me to places including all of New England, New York, Maryland, Virginia, California, Oregon and Washington.
I've judged several different food competitions, from the East Cambridge Rib Fest to, most recently, a Japanese Sushi contest that was filmed for Japanese TV.
For five consecutive years, I won awards for my coverage of the Seafood Expo North America and was also chosen as one of the Gulf Coast Seafood's Top 100 Seafood Bloggers.
I have written a series of supernatural thrillers, the Tipsy Sensei series. Currently consisting of three novels and four short stories, the series centers on a Boston area Sake expert who learns that the supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore are real. Using ancient Japanese legends, I place them into contemporary Boston, and am currently working on the next novel in the series.
I'm also a contributing author to The New Single Malt Whiskey. My original research, expanding the known History of Pechuga Mezcal, was referenced in a new book on Mezcal. In addition, my original research on the History of Sake Breweries in the U.S. was referenced in a Sake Brewing Journal in Japan.
You can contact me through email at ubarluther@aol.com
My mailing/shipping address:
Richard Auffrey
The Passionate Foodie
200F Main Street, Suite 332
Stoneham, MA 02180
781-608-3494
