Eliza Dumais

New York

Writer and Editor at Freelance

ok sport // currently @vice, formerly @refinery29 @thrillist @domino

Articles

Eliza Dumais: ‘The copy that comes with a score is so essential to making comparisons’

5 days ago | decanter.com | Eliza Dumais

And while I, myself, am partial to adjectives, the practice of old-fashioned numerical scoring is nevertheless alive and well. For context: ‘Scoring is just a shorthand that tells you how good a critic thinks a wine is compared to its peers,’ explains Matt Walls, Decanter’s Rhône-oriented wine critic (and the Regional Chair for Rhône in the Decanter World Wine Awards). ‘For winemakers and [commercial] buyers, scores are a useful tool. For retailers and importers, they help market and sell wines.
The SWURL Guide to Commonly Used Wine Terms

3 weeks ago | swurlmedia.com | Eliza Dumais

Featuring over 60 essential wine terms, the SWURL Guide offers clear, approachable definitions that demystify the language of wine. Whether you’re just starting out or building on what you know, this illustrated guide helps you navigate the world of wine without the fuss. For European customers, please visit Rerenga Wines to purchase the guide.
Blind faith: Eliza Dumais on our obsession with tasting blind

1 month ago | decanter.com | Eliza Dumais

Generally speaking, I prefer to know what things are before I put them in my mouth. The wine world, however, maintains a near-obsessive fixation on the opposite practice: Tasting blind a game whereby you might find yourself paying $90 for a bottle of you-don’t-know-what simply for the love of sport.
The Problem of the Cocktail Garnish

1 month ago | ediblebrooklyn.com | Eliza Dumais

On a scale from one to wild, the contemporary cocktail garnish is hard to place. At present, your drink—regardless of what, exactly, you’ve ordered—seems just as likely to arrive topped with a tidy curl of orange peel as, say, a proper octopus tentacle, or perhaps an entire quail. Therein lies the problem of the garnish: Nontraditional innovation is certainly a positive, but when does innovation cross the absurdity threshold? How much caviar do we really need on any given table?
For Wine Writer Alice Feiring, Natural Wine Is Not Just a Trend

2 months ago | punchdrink.com | Eliza Dumais

Alice Feiring has been writing about natural wine since long before “chilled red” and “skin contact” emerged as standard subheadings on wine lists. In fact, her work predates popular use of the moniker “natural wine” itself. “My first big wine story came out in 2001—after which, I was immediately branded as a natural wine writer,” she says.
Coravin Timeless Three+ Review

2 months ago | wsj.com | Eliza Dumais

By Ian Garrity, as told to Eliza Dumais As a sommelier, I want to usher in a new generation of drinkers-and make wine feel more democratic on the whole—but that's not always easy. For casual and novice drinkers, it's tough to experiment or try new things when desirable bottles can be extremely pricey, and are limited. Even for seasoned drinkers, the cost prohibits plenty of folks from tasting bottles from sought after producers or regions.
Have we reached ‘Peak Can’? Eliza Dumais on the supposed joys of aluminium

2 months ago | decanter.com | Eliza Dumais

Alas, the can epidemic surges onward. In the year of our lord 2025, there is nothing that Big Beverage will not put in a can: kombucha, martinis, cold brew, water. And it comes as no surprise that wine falls at the top of the list of trending can-able substances. But, for all its proliferation, to what degree are we meant to take it seriously? ‘If you wanna drink out of a can, why not just drink anything else?’ one bartender inquired when I addressed the subject.
The Destination Bachelorette Burnout Is Real-Plan a Local One Instead

Feb 26, 2025 | cntraveler.com | Eliza Dumais

The bachelorette party—nearly Shakespearean in its implied drama and delight—has grown so profoundly popular as to seem a mandated prerequisite to marriage itself (did you even wed if you didn’t fly to Miami beforehand to inhale espresso martinis with your nearest and dearest?!).
The Destination Bachelorette Burnout Is Real-Plan a Local One Instead

Feb 26, 2025 | yahoo.com | Eliza Dumais

Olga Pankova/GettyThe bachelorette party—nearly Shakespearean in its implied drama and delight—has grown so profoundly popular as to seem a mandated prerequisite to marriage itself (did you even wed if you didn’t fly to Miami beforehand to inhale espresso martinis with your nearest and dearest?!).
The failure of the Surgeon General: Eliza Dumais on the irrelevance of warning labels

Feb 10, 2025 | decanter.com | Eliza Dumais

My cigarette principles are as follows: I only smoke after midnight or in France – whereby packs of Marlboro Gold come plastered with close-up shots of blackened lungs or chains of rotting teeth. And while yes, I belong to the absolute lowest common denominator of smoker (neither debaucherous enough to lean in, nor righteous enough to properly abstain) my point is that such warning labels, even at their most graphic, have done little to scare me off (even sans the chemical draw of addiction).