Category: Boutique Wines
Dom Pérignon, Champagne, France: Some Current Releases
Where to begin with Dom Pérignon? It is a brand, a wine, and a historical figure welded into an idea
The World’s Best Burgundy? Tasting La La Paulée de San Francisco 2010
I won’t be winning any awards this year for “timely reporting.” It’s now been more than three months since the
Secret Wines of the Napa Valley
The second of the two seminars I gave at the recent Aspen Food & Wine Classic festival was entitled “Secrets
J.L. Chave, Mauve en Ardeche, France: Current Releases
Some places in this world are simply hallowed ground when it comes to winemaking. Of course every deep-rooted and honest
South African Gems: My Aspen Food & Wine Classic Seminar
As some of you know, I spent last week at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, where amongst a lot
2004 Cooper Garrod “Lone Oak Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
One of the greatest joys in my life remains the feeling I get when stumbling upon a small winery whose
Sea Smoke Cellars, Santa Barbara: Current Releases
Sometimes as I’m traveling through wine country, I see beautiful pieces of land that aren’t planted to grapes and I
2006 Hughes-Wellman Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
While wines, and great wines in particular, are made with incredible forethought and planning, sometimes wine labels can spring up
2007 J Vineyards “Barrel 16” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
There was a time (think: late Seventies, early Eighties) when a lot of people would have put money on California
1980 Soldera Case Basse Brunello Riserva, Montalcino, Italy
When I was a kid, I read a lot of science fiction. On long plane flights I still occasionally pick
Noon Winery, McLaren Vale, Australia: Current Releases
The term garagiste, originally coined as a pejorative referring to the small wineries in Bordeaux’s Right Bank who were making
2006 Marc Kreydenweiss “Clos Rebberg” Pinot Gris, Alsace, France
The wines of Alsace are some of the most unique and distinctive in the world. They are also some of
2007 Monastero Suore Cistercensi “Coenobium Rusticum” Bianco, Lazio, Italy
We owe much of modern viticulture and winemaking traditions to the church in some form or another. Even before the
Jasper Hill Winery, Heathcote, Australia: Current Releases
The best wines in the world all share at least one thing in common, and that is a winemaker who
Palmina Winery, Santa Barbara County: Current Releases
You know how some entrepreneurs seem to start businesses in their sleep? They create a company, make it profitable or
Giaconda Winery, Beechworth, Australia: Current Releases
I’m an armchair student of geology. There was a time when I thought I was going to be a mineralogist.
Tasting the Artisans of Barossa Wines
I’ve just spent a couple of days in Australia’s Barossa Valley, with its rolling hills of ancient rock worn down
Yarra Yering Winery, Yarra Valley, Australia: Current Releases
The greatest wines of the world are undeniably a product of place, embodying the particular constellation of elements that can
Castagna Winery, Beechworth, Australia: Current Releases
The little house with a peaked roof pokes up over the crest of the hill, and the vineyards in the
