From Bierzo With Love About five years ago, Mencía had a real moment. It was popping up in the New York Times, sommeliers were buzzing, and wine lovers suddenly had a new grape to obsess over. Around that time, I...
OG Etna Rosso by Murgo Etna wines have earned a serious following over the past decade, and with that popularity has come a steady climb in prices. But every now and then, a bottle reminds us that not all Etna...
A Chef and a Winemaker Walk into a Restaurant… I may have mentioned that I have spent a lot of time working in restaurants. To be honest, I found that Chef’s have difficulty with food and wine pairings. I’ve often...
If You Love Kermit Lynch & Louis/Dressner, Don’t Miss This! The 2022 Grand Enclos du Château Cérons Blanc has just landed, and it’s the first time in several years this château has been available in the U.S. That alone makes...
An Under-$20 White Burgundy I’d Buy by the Case (and Did) Every once in a while, a wine lands on the table that just makes me stop for a beat. No analysis, no overthinking, no swirling and note-taking. Just pour,...
The Easy-Yes Chablis This has always been a great value Chablis producer at every level-village, 1er, GC. I know this, you know this. As I was looking at a bottle left with me as a sample to taste the current...
A Throwback to When Bordeaux Was a Value This is a bottle that truly bucks the trend of sky-high Bordeaux pricing and delivers the kind of honest value that regions like Côtes de Castillon, Haut-Médoc, and Entre-Deux-Mers have traditionally been...
Tempranillo Blanco. Yes, that’s right. It’s a white grape. Tempranillo Blanco to me is one of the most intriguing grapes in modern Spanish viticulture. Discovered in Rioja as a natural mutation of red Tempranillo, this variety appeared in a vineyard...
Introducing the Award-Winning 2021 Stellenbosch Cabernet I am pleased to present a truly remarkable wine that has recently garnered international recognition: the 2021 Knorhoek Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch, South Africa. This exceptional wine was recently awarded Best in Show by...
Cotes du Rhone that drinks like Chateauneuf To be honest, I don’t normally include Côtes du Rhône at this price point. But this is not a typical Côtes du Rhône.This strikes me very much as a great Chateauneuf du Pape...
Southern Rhone Reds for the Winter When I look to refresh my Rhône wines at home with wines that deliver serious character without a luxury-tier price tag, La Font de Notre Dame is one I reach for, year after year....
A fresher take on Umbria Francesco Mariani of Cantina Raina’s philosophy starts in the vineyard with a deep commitment to indigenous varieties, and in this bottling Sangiovese takes the lead role. Rather than chasing ripeness at all costs, Francesco works...
Piedmont’s Next Rising Star I love introducing wines at the very beginning of a producer’s story. The 2023 Rosso Bacher Langhe Nebbiolo is only the third vintage from Marisa Bacher, and notably the first vintage ever available outside of the...
A Noble Name in Montalcino I’m excited to share a bottle that beautifully captures where tradition and thoughtful progress meet: the 2022 Col d’Orcia Rosso di Montalcino. This is a wine from one of Montalcino’s historic estates, but it also...
A New Chapter for Puiatti and Friuli When I first started in the wine business, Cantina Puiatti wasn’t a producer I gravitated toward. The wines were pleasant, but they didn’t quite have the energy or depth I was looking for....
Freshness from Abruzzo There is something quietly thrilling about discovering wines that massively overdeliver. These two 2023 releases from Ciavolich, one of Abruzzo’s most historic estates, are exactly that kind of find. I fell in love immediately. Ciavolich farms in...
From Pioneer to Benchmark: Ken Wright Long before the Willamette Valley was shorthand for world-class Pinot, Ken Wright was quietly, stubbornly, and passionately proving that Oregon could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the great regions of the world. Ken’s story begins not...
Beaucaillou Brilliance in 2022, A Smarter Bordeaux Buy When people talk about the great names of Bordeaux, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou sits comfortably among the elite. This is one of the Médoc’s most revered estates—Second Growth in the 1855 Classification, legendary gravel...
Love and Valentine’s Day in Sicily Meet 2022 Tenuta Regaleali “Lamùri” Nero d’Avola, a wine whose name quite literally means “love” in a Sicilian dialect. If that doesn’t make it a natural choice for Valentine’s Day, I’m not sure what...
There is Muscadet, and then there is Clisson. I remember when I first started blind tasting, an MS that was blinding our group called on me to run through one white wine. In the end, I decided to call it...
The Smart Way to Drink Margaux If Bordeaux feels a little misunderstood right now, you’re not imagining it. Somewhere along the way, Bordeaux picked up a reputation for being buttoned-up, stodgy, and stuck in the past with the generation just...
