Real Wine, Real Place: Sesta di Sopra 2024 Sangiovese Some wines are just plain good. The 2024 Sesta di Sopra Toscana IGT Sangiovese isn’t factory made wine. This is real wine—grown, harvested, and bottled by hand on a remote 44-hectare...
Galicia’s Best-Kept Secret: Albariño & Mencía from Casa Monte Pío I love finding producers who fly under the radar, and Casa Monte Pío in Galicia is one of those quiet gems that delivers much more than expected—especially at their new...
The Benchmark Montepulciano: Marina Cvetic 2020 When people ask what Montepulciano d’Abruzzo should taste like, this is the bottle I reach for. I love when people disparage Pinot Grigio and Montepulciano, Trebbiano and Fiano. There are so many great expressions...
Legacy Refined: Oddero’s Vibrant 2020 Barolo Reaching back to the late 1700s, Oddero helped shape the story of Barolo itself—first bottling under their own name in the 19th century and exporting as early as the 1870s. Today, under the guidance...
Gueguen’s Breakthrough Bottling Has Arrived This is the first vintage Ideal Wine & Spirits has imported from this particular vineyard, and for good reason: the quality of the wine took a major leap in 2023, and they felt it was...
Feather-Light, Off-Dry, and Flat-Out Delicious A stalwart of the Skurnik Wines portfolio and one of the standard bearers of fine Riesling today, Schloss Lieser is everything you want in a Mosel estate: steep slate vineyards, old vines, a deep well...
Bold, Perfumed, Unexpected—This Is Kyè Freisa is one of Piemonte’s oldest grapes, historically rustic, even controversial, but thanks to the visionary work of Aldo Vajra—who began reviving the variety back in the 1980s—it has become something beautiful and unexpected. Freisa...
Marietta’s Lot 74: California’s Best Red Value? Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot No. 74 is the newest release in one of California’s most consistently delicious red wine series, and it’s as irresistible as ever. If you loved the wildly...
History, Hills, and Honest Wine Founded in 1986 by Russ Rainey, this estate has always stood for something more than just delicious wine. It has championed deep organic farming, dry-farming, and the belief that great wines must speak clearly of...
Gewürztraminer, Reimagined in the Alps I’ve long held a deep affection for the Alto Adige region—its mountain air, sun-warmed vineyards, and the way its wines seem to hum with clarity and energy. For me, it’s one of the greatest white...
Pillot Punches Above His Weight—Again Jean-Marc Pillot’s wines represent one of the best values in white and red Burgundy today, particularly when measured against their peers across the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. With deep family roots in Chassagne-Montrachet,...
One Foot in the Old World, One in Napa Joe and Alice Heitz moved into Napa Valley in 1961 and founded their eponymous winery. The rest is history. A touchstone Napa Cabernet since day one, a participant in the Judgement...
From Eight Generations of Earth, Smoke, and Cherry Skin If you’re familiar with the importer Louis/Dressner, you know their reputation: they seek out real wine from real people—growers who farm responsibly, work by hand, ferment with native yeasts, and bottle...
The Rosé That Collectors Actually Chase If you’ve been paying attention to the Loire in the last decade, then the name Guiberteau will already ring a few bells. Romain Guiberteau has taken his family's estate in Saumur from humble beginnings...
Chablis with a Conspiracy Theory—and Serious Cut Let me share a story I recently heard from someone I trust—a longtime industry pro who knows the inner workings of French wine better than most, and who just returned from a trip...
The Future of Marsannay Is Here For those of us who pay attention to the warming that Burgundy has seen in the last two decades and more, Marsannay has become impossible to ignore—the areas on the edges have become more...
The Sancerre That Sommeliers Whisper About When I was managing restaurants, I poured Célestin Blondeau’s Sancerre by the glass for years. Year after year, it was exactly what I needed it to be: a rock-solid, pitch-perfect Sancerre that hit all...
Timorasso Reimagined: The Debut of Derthona From two of Piedmont’s most iconic figures comes a white wine with deep roots and a vivid new voice. The 2023 Cascina Penna-Currado ‘Derthona’ Timorasso is a radiant debut from Elena Penna and Luca...
RossoNoah Is Back—and Almost Gone With the 2023 RossoNoah, Andrea Mosca distills the soul of Alto Piemonte into a wine that punches far above its weight. At under $25, this bottle is an astonishing value—supple, savory, mineral-laced, and bursting with...
Cape Cod In A Bottle There’s something fulfilling about a bottle of wine that checks every box—refreshing, versatile, and unbelievably affordable. Aragosta Vermentino is that wine, year in and year out, and we offer it every year for that reason....
