Articles

1/18/19 - I met Johannes Zillinger during a dinner held at Michael Gindl's home in Hohenruppersdorf; amongst a jovial group of friends and winemakers lots of bottles were opened and enjoyed. His wines made an impression then, and a few days later at Vie Vinum in Vienna I was able to taste through the line-up. As we struggled to talk above the din of the wine...

1/17/19 - California's wine culture seems to be adapting at a mercurial rate of change. With the landscape constantly being restructured and the ideals always changing it is rare to find a winemaker that really encapsulates the spirit of now in California. We believe that in Martha Stoumen we have found this current archetype, and in describing her methods and her wines we can...

1/10/19 - In Meursault, a village positively overflowing with excellent growers, Domiane Pierre Morey somehow manages to remain a hidden gem. And while Coche, Lafon, and Roulot manage to command the lion's share of attention, Pierre and his talented daughter Anne seem to avoid the limelight. Founded in 1971—though the Moreys are said to have arrived in the village in 1793—Domaine Pierre Morey was...

12/28/18 - As everyone begins to rouse themselves from the post-holiday lull, we thought we would shine a light on Division Wine Co.. one of our favorite producers doing exciting stuff out in Oregon. Division is an urban winery in Portland, Oregon making incredible wines, predominantly sourced from the Willamette Valley, that are joyous and exciting expressions of this great winemaking region. Started in...

12/20/18 - Jamet is a household name, but Champet remains a bit of a secret. This may be, in part, because the wines aren’t Parkerian, as they lack the requisite gobs and toasty toast*. The conventional line is that little or nothing has changed at Champet - apparently much is as it was when Emile Champet first bottled his Côte Rôtie in 1967. This...

12/15/18 - Earlier this year, Amanda and I had the great joy of sharing a day with Stephane Tissot in the Jura. As soon as we arrived, Stephane greeted us with the energy of a highschool kid on 2 cans of Red Bull. Amanda: Oui je parle un peu Francais, mais si c'est possible de parler doucement - Stephane: No. Sorry. If you like...

12/7/18 - People think of Muscadet as a refreshing summer wine, and yes, it was 24 degrees in New York this morning, but if you're having fish or shellfish for dinner, or enjoying some goat cheese, then it's time for Muscadet! We're very happy to feature superb new arrivals from the 2015 vintage, from our friends Jo Landron; Gwenaëlle, Rémi and Marc at Domaine...

12/5/18 - At the northernmost reaches of the Pfalz (Germany's second largest winemaking region), the vineyards look akin to the vineyards of their neighbor to the north, the Rheinhessen, with long stretches of rolling hillside terrain. The soils here range from limestone to sand and gravel to loam and loess, and the hills give the opportunity for various cooler microclimates to be found. In the tiny town of Bockenheim,...

11/30/18 - Now I've certainly gone on at length about my love for the truly transcendant 2016 red Burgundies, but I'd be remiss were I not to recommend the brilliant whites from the vintage. In what could be considered one of the most difficult growing seasons in memory in Burgundy (devastating frost, followed by two months of rain and mildew pressure), has arisen what...

11/27/18 - A few weeks ago, we stepped back and looked at our Mencia offerings, and figured the lineup was worth emailing about, as there are quite a few Mencia fans among our ranks and amongst our local clientele as well. We figured some of our readers may share our enthusiasm! Mencia is found in Galicia, and most historians speculate that it came from...

11/18/18 - Our dear friend, and neighbor at Racines NY, Pascaline Lepeltier, MS, has just achieved an historic double triumph, first winning the prestigious 2018 Meilleure Ouvrière de France (Sommellerie) title in October and then, last Sunday, winning the crown of Meilleure Sommelière de France!t The first woman to ever win these two competitions, Ms. Lepeltier is now a Managing Partner at Racines, working...

11/8/18 - In many ways the Corsican wine region has been long misunderstood. To outsiders, it may seem that the French island has an identity crisis -- not quite French, not quite Italian --  but Corsicans have always had a strong sense of who they are. And as we get to meet more of the winemakers and discover more of the wines from that region,...

11/7/18 - The first time I met Benoit Courault, my hair was wild and desheveled and someone mistook me for him at a wine fair in France. We both had a laugh and I proceeded to taste and chat with him about his wines, vineyards, and philosophy. This was around the same time that I was discovering how remarkable Chenin Blanc on Schiste (schist terroir) can...

11/2/18 - At a certain point, when one reflects on all the wines they have been fortunate enough to taste, certain growers stand out for their ability to capture the character and quality of every vintage. Yet the best of these vignerons also offer their own signature to the wines much like a painter's signature is reflected by their brushstroke. Over time we await...

10/31/18 - Today we are excited to bring you the whole lineup from Chile's foremost biodynamic winemaker, Alvaro Espinoza of Antiyal. Alvaro and his wife Marina founded Antiyal in 1996 to teach their children about the cycles of the earth and farming. "Antiyal" is a Mapuche word that means "sons of the sun," in honor of Alvaro's use of the cosmos in his biodynamic...