Articles

5/9/19 - After a long, if somewhat mild winter, spring has finally arrived not only in the city but in the Green Markets. And while we enjoy the earthy virtues of squash and root vegetables, it's a pleasure to see all that green on the tables from the local farms. After the brief thrill of ramp season, asparagus has arrived and has us dreaming...

5/6/19 - Today we are very excited to turn our attentions to nine very different wines from the Canary Islands: reds, whites, and one rosado from three geological and climactically distinct islands belonging to this southernmost outpost of Spanish viticulture. Winemaking here dates back to the late 1400s, when Spanish and other European colonists planted grapes on the weathered soils. Today, the wines of...

4/24/19 - Jane et Sylvain Raphanau (their estate is simply called "Jane et Sylvain") produce tiny quantities of lovely terroir-expressive wines on their four hectares in and around Gevrey, certified organic since 2003.  They take great pride in the quality of their vineyard work and the purity of their wines, which are produced with minimal SO2, and  which show an old-fashioned earthy character sadly...

4/19/19 - Namazake, or unpasteurized sake, is a somewhat seasonal style that is becoming more popular, especially outside of Japan. Prized for its freshness and lively character, it is nominally available all year round, though it is usually released in the spring, right after the brewing season. Perhaps lacking the refined and suble character of some pasteurized sake, namazake is nonetheless a fascinating experience,...

4/17/19 - Although it's been a few years since we've been able to visit Sven Enderle and Florian Moll, and (truth be told) we rarely get to taste through their whole line-up since a scant amount comes over to the States; the arrival of their wines is always exciting, because we trust implicitly that they will do the right thing. By right thing, we mean careful stewardship of...

4/15/19 - Feudo Montoni is about 60 miles south and east of Palermo – not very far, but worlds removed from the hustle of Palermo; little has changed at Montoni and in the surrounding countryside, so you could also say that it’s removed from Palermo by centuries. This is the region that was once “the granary of the Roman Empire” – fertile and covered...

4/5/19 - Portugese wines are on the rise and we want to highlight some our favorites from this dynamic country! With young people returning to the country, and grandparents passing on their traditions to a new generation, there is really something of a renaissance brewing. Though most of the grape growers and farmers in the country have longstanding contracts with Port houses, or sell their grapes to cooperatives, many of...

4/1/19 - Please join us at Racines NY on Wednesday, April 3rd at 7pm as we host Didier Barroulllet of the Clos Roche Blanche in a celebration of this important Loire Valley estate.  Beginning in the 1980s, Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet at the Clos Roche Blanche in Touraine began a journey of discovery beginning with organic farming, through biodynamics and beyond, to some...

3/29/19 - Descending the sloping tunnel into the cellar at Clos Rougeard was to enter a world apart, a separate reality of wine presided over by the keen intelligence and sharp-edged wit of Nadi Foucault. I took rudimentary  notes there once (1988 Bourg: first year bottled separately, youthful nose of black fruits, palate incredibly complex, floral red and black fruits, excellent) but soon learned...

3/19/19 - Since I began visiting the Loire Valley in 2011, I have always held high esteem for Hervé Villemade. He is a focused, professional winemaker, and an open-minded and fun-loving colleague and friend. His wines have both defined and defied the Cheverny appellation for me, teaching me of tradition and then occasionally throwing it out the window. Year after year, I have found...

3/15/19 - I will readily admit to an abiding love for Burgundy. The appellations roll off the tongue: Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée, Volnay, Pommard… I’ll also confess to having great affection for less name-brand Burgundies. While not exactly household names, the less famous villages of the Côte d’Or furnish some immensely satisfying and affordable knife-and-fork wines. The interplay between fruit and earth and the cool-toned, sweet...

3/14/19 - Our small allocation of 2016s from Sylvie Esmonin has just arrived and while quantities are proscribed due to the historic frost and the subsequent two months of near-constant rain and attendant disease pressure, we're excited by the bright aromatics, fruit purity, and terroir specificity of the vintage. During our visits to the estate many years ago, the importance of plowing and good...

3/12/19 - This winter, after weeks of tromping around France visiting winemakers and attending wine tasting events, I attempted to take a very short vacation in Barcelona. I had promised Manel Arinyó from Clos Lentiscus that I would visit the next time I was in the area, so I reached out to his US importers, Ana and Alvaro from Selections de la Vina. As...

3/2/19 - Last year, I wrote a piece about Oriol Artigas and his wines, after he visited Chambers Street for a short tasting appointment. The wines - and his passion and joyfulness - left a deep impression on me, so I resolved to visit Oriol, as there may be nothing more important to understanding a winemaker and their wines than visiting the vineyards and seeing...

3/1/19 - First, we'd like to apologize for being out of Stéphane Guion's wine for almost two months - a disaster, caused by various shipping problems, delays and vacations. The good news is that the shipment arriving next week includes the superb 2016 Cuvée Prestige! For those of you who like to cellar their Bourgueils - or who enjoy drinking a beautifully structured wine...