Articles

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....

7/11/17 - For decades Aligoté has had something of an image problem. Short, sharp, and shocking in its acidity when farmed for high yields in indifferent terrior, it was viewed as a rustic country wine more suitable for a kir (softened with a scandalous amount of cassis,) than for the table. Yet, as a recent article by Eric Asimov, and a series of articles...

7/10/17 - We wouldn't mind being in the Côtes Catalanes right now, drinking regional wines outside under the summer sun. Since that won't be happening any time soon, at least we can share some new arrivals from our friends Carolin and Niko Bantlin, from Domaine Les Enfants Sauvages! This is the second year we've been working with the Bantlins, so some of our customers...

7/5/17 - Gianni Canonica is one of my wine heroes. He makes uncompromising, great wine in every vintage, and he seems happy in his work, taking a calm and harmonious view of the swirling world around him. His wines have been discovered – fundamentally because of their quality, but also because some key Italian tastemakers have a better understanding and feeling for naturally made,...

7/2/17 - Apparently there is a very entertaining video of rapper Action Bronson tasting Susucaru, Frank Cornelissen’s fabulous rosato, and smoking pot. And smoking. And smoking. Or maybe he was smoking in a different video? I haven’t seen it, but it’s clear from his audiences’ response that he loved the wine. The video produced a flood of inquiries, and it’s great that there is...

6/30/17 - Last fall we were graced by a visit from Angelo and Letizia of Azienda Fongoli and I came away from the experience deeply impressed. Not only were they lovely people who were excellent communicators about their land and their philosophy, but their wines were absolutely wonderful. The estate was founded in 1927 by Decio Fongoli Calvani and has passed down through three...

6/22/17 - In the mountains of Bierzo Alto, at the limit of winegrowing possibility, Germán Blanco makes his delicious Casa Aurora wines in the tiny village of Albares de la Ribera. This is the home town of his grandmother and mentor, La Señora Aurora Garcia, who was the first female in the area to work in the coal mines, following the early death of...

6/20/17 - We're very proud to be working with the witty and affable Jean-Francois Deu at Domaine du Traginer, and we have just received a new shipment of these unique and delicious wines that belong on your table this season! Last Friday we tasted all the new arrrivals and customers and staff alike were unanimous in their praise for these superb wines.  While all...