Articles

10/10/17 - A trek through Taganana with Roberto Santana of Envínate demands focus and footwork to keep from skidding down the vine-coated cliffs, which appear to drop directly into the Atlantic. Known more to hikers than wine drinkers these days, this corner of northwestern Tenerife -- geologically, one of the island's oldest -- was a popular winegrowing zone in the 1600s, according to Santana. Its iron-rich tosca roja and rocky black volcanic...

9/29/17 - 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...

9/28/17 - Today we offer the first installment in a series of emails meant to shed light on the dynamic wines and winemakers of Alsace, with a focus on producers who work organically and biodynamically in the vineyards and with little or no added sulfites in the cellar. Our spotlight today is on Domaine Geschickt in Ammerschwihr. The estate was started by Bernadette Meyer...

9/14/17 - (Image from the book "Frère de Terroirs," which follows chefs Jacques Ferrandez and Yves Camdeborde on their travels through France. Thomas Finot is shown welcoming the chef duo to his garage winery in Bernin) We're proud to introduce the wines of Thomas Finot, a young winemaker who, after experience in different regions of France, discovered abandonned vineyards in the Coteaux du Gresivaudan"...

9/13/17 - It’s common promo-speak to say that "we are very excited to…" but this time it’s really true. We are very excited that Peter Liem’s book on champagne* is about to be published. Why? Because Peter is one of the smartest tasters of champagne we know (in truth, he’s one of the smartest tasters we know of any wine), and a wonderful writer...

9/8/17 - Despite the disastrous frost that hit the Loire Valley in the spring of 2016, our friends Marc, Rémi and Gwenaëlle at Domaine de la Pépière were able to make a small quantity of their classic old-vine cuvée, the Muscadet Sèvre-et Maine Sur Lie "Clos des Briords," which arrives on October 2nd. Although there was not enough juice in this difficult vintage to...

9/3/17 - Much like white pants, rosé after Labor Day is controversial. Some might say that rosé season has come and gone. And they, like white pants, would be wrong. There are some things that just can't be rushed, like love, and native yeast fermentations.  In March, Nicolas Gonin tantalized one of his U.S. importer's salespeople, Sophie Barrett (MFW), with a tank sample of his 2016 rosé....

9/1/17 - Historically the Savoie is a region where wine production is small and the tourists are thirsty. Limited quantities, immediate local consumption, and conventional farming have made it challenging to put the handful of producers we enjoy into a wider context. When the wines are good, they're very good, so it's easy to understand why the Savoie is gaining a cult following.  When...

8/28/17 - For the last few years we’ve been trying to get in touch with Luca Roagna so that we could visit with him, but Luca is very busy and not easy to find. In the meantime the wines seemed to be getting expensive, especially the Barbaresco Crichet Paje, which is now at least $450, often a lot more, and the other bottlings didn’t...

8/24/17 - When speaking about the weather extremes of the 2016 vintage in Germany, many winemakers reflected on the new normalcy of having record-breaking weather every year. 2016: Rainiest Early Summer. The intense amount of rain made for Peronospora troubles for many, especially those who are farming organically. This loss of grape bunches made for different levels of ripeness of the grapes at harvest: on average, vines with...

8/10/17 - Of the many Italian wine regions I've had the chance to explore, the wines of Molise have remained a bit of a mystery to me.  Molise is a small and extremely mountainous region south of Abruzzo that is often absent from wine lists and in reference materials about Italian wine. Everything that I had read led me to believe that this was a...

8/5/17 - I vividly recall my first taste of Ignios Orígenes. It was after a tasting at the importer's office, when a trio of unlabeled black bottles appeared, distinguished only by inscrutable cursive markings. First to be poured: the Baboso. "What is Baboso?" I asked. In response, a gleaming splash of magenta filled my glass, a multi-sensory onslaught of technicolor fruits, perfumed florals, volcanic...

8/4/17 - Earlier this year, while researching new winemakers in the Loire, I stumbled upon some information about Domäne Vincendeau, an estate in Anjou that began producing wines in 2014. At the helm of this new estate was not the usual 30-something French guy living in his van, but instead a woman from Germany named Liv Vincendeau, who settled in Rochefort-sur-Loire with her husband...

8/1/17 - Mezcal is often spoken about in spiritual, sometimes even religious terms. Many marketing materials of available brands hark back to Aztec mythology, speaking of this clear, fiery liquid as the spirit of the gods. While I don't completely feel myself drawn in by these attempts at such glorification, I do find myself completely in love with the spirit itself. There is a...

7/12/17 - Our friend Eric Texier is making some of the finest wines in the Rhône Valley, both in the south and the north. His Chateauneuf-du-Papes, red and white, are outstanding. His work in Brézème and St Julien-en-St Alban has resurrected forgotten vineyards and is producing magnificent wines. His inexpensive Côtes-du-Rhônes are wonderfully refreshing and balanced, unencumbered by high-alcohol and gobs of hedonistic fruit....