Category: Undiscovered Wines

Keeping Mendocino Cool: Introducing Boonville Road Wines
Mendocino County, home to the Anderson Valley, is one of my favorite wine-growing areas in California. However, I’ve long maintained

Sonoma Scrappy: Introducing Topophilia Wine Company
One of the great pleasures of writing about wine will always be the sense of discovery it affords. The wine

The Reincarnation of Pinot Noir: Adam Lee’s Clarice Project
If you went looking for a poster child, rags-to-riches wine success story in California, you’d be hard-pressed to find a

Putting Terroir Where Your Mouth Is: The Extraordinary Wines of Pedro Parra
The van bumps down the dirt road and comes to a halt at the top of a steep unmarked lane

The Narrow Road to Quality in Chile’s Far North
Pisco vineyards in the Elqui valley. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. One of the perennial regrets of any traveling journalist must be

Lost Treasures in the Sierra Foothills: The Wines of Renaissance Vineyards
Soon after gold was discovered in California in 1848, and word spread east, more than 80,000 prospectors descended upon the

A Life Indomitable: The Wines of Casal Santa Maria, Portugal
“I have been condemned to death four times,” says the man that everyone calls Senhor Baron with a smile that

Bay Area Bordeaux: Tasting Santa Cruz Mountain Cabernets
It sounds like the beginnings of a joke: how do you hook a wine writer? The answer, it turns out,

The Taste of Something New: Introducing Solminer Wines
Many things motivate the ambitious wine lover, but the curious joy of discovery often ranks highest among the forces that

Coastal Diamonds: The Rieslings of Oregon
About every two years, I get an invite to attend the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The

The Abbot’s Dinner: A Tale of New Beginnings in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Few things excite me more than getting a peek into the birth of a promising new winery. Especially when such

Drinking The Past: The Wines of Zorah, Armenia
Wines are always a link to our past. At the very least they tell a story of a previous season,

Kocabag Winery, Cappadocia, Turkey: Current Releases
From the small airport of Nevsehir you must cross the Kizilirmak or “the red river,” the longest river in Turkey

Vivier Wines, Napa: Current Releases
Most winemakers have some story of how they discovered wine. It’s quite commonplace in Europe to simply grow up in
Garagiste Winemakers Tasting: November 10, Paso Robles
One of my favorite pastimes involves tasting wines made by small winemakers who either are just beginning their journeys to

Heimann Family Estate, Szekszard, Hungary: Current Releases
The Transdanubian hills in Szekszárd (pronounced sex-sahrd), rise up sharply off the Hungarian Plain, bounding up several hundred meters in

Forgotten Jewels: Reviving Chile’s Old Vine Carignane
As a child, the lure of archeology cannot be denied. Fantasies of discovering ancient treasures fuel the dreams of many

Love is All You Need: The Magical Wines of Imre Kaló
The road from Tokaj to Eger, Hungary, tells something of the country’s story. An early spring afternoon shows lush, gently