Articles

5/10/18 - Based out of Berkeley, California, Broc Cellars is an exciting winery, headed by winemaker Chris Brockway, that focuses on offbeat wines from intriguing and often much older vineyards. Their winemaking process uses only native yeasts with minimal doses of SO2 at bottling. These wines are fantastic and full of energy, frequently from areas off the more beaten California wine trails, with none of the weightier...

5/8/18 - Balazu des Vaussieres, Christian and Nadia Charmasson in Tavel After reading about an estate in Tavel that practices totally natural, more-than-organic vineyard work and vinifies without adding SO2, we made an appointment to visit Christian and Nadia Charmasson on the Chemin des Vaussières in Tavel. Our  visit occured during a storm of howling winds and torrential rain and was cut short by...

4/17/18 - In the northeast corner of the France-Comté, the river de la Loue emerges from a cave at the bottom of a worn limestone cliff, then carves through miles of lush vegetation, valleys and villages. It is in this river's crescent bend that the commune of Port-Lesney is cradled setting the scene for travelers, filmmakers, and future winemakers alike. I am indeed referencing...

4/13/18 - Since 1647, the Wenzel family has worked the land near the town of Rust, on the western side of Lake Neusiedl, in the Burgenland region of Austria. Rust has had a long, storied history in the wine world, at one time producing wines so renowned that they were able to buy their way into the special standing of "royal free city" in 1681 during the...

4/11/18 - Brighter days, blooms, and bird song can only mean that Domaine Belluard is back in stock. While savvy wine drinkers have already scrolled past this to the offer, I must confess to the newcomers that it took me a moment to have my "moment" with these wines.  The scarceness and subsequent price tag made them seem hard to access. Like modal jazz, abstract expressionism, or wearing white...

4/8/18 - In recent years, there's been a good amount of interest growing in France for wines from the Ardèche, and though people aren't flocking to Chambers Street and asking for the regions' wines by name, we thought it was about time to do a small piece for our readers. The Ardèche is a region located just west of the Rhone Valley, and is...

4/7/18 - Since a tasting many years ago at the natural wine fair "La Dive Bouteille," we have loved the Pouilly-Fuissés of Château des Rontets. Created in the 1700s, the estate has been in the Varambon family since the mid 1800s. In 1995 Claire Gazeau, François Varambon's great-grand-daughter, moved to Fuissé to take care of it with her husband Fabio Montrasi. Please join us...

4/6/18 - Are we living in the golden age of mezcal? At this point, I think it's safe to say it's an exploding category. We're seeing more exposure: more articles, more selections available on the shelf, and more consumers interested in learning about mezcal. It seems like almost every week there is something new, either special releases from our favorite producers, or entirely new...

4/3/18 - We were very excited a few years ago to discover some beautiful Chateauneuf-du-Papes at a tasting of wines imported by our old friend Peter Weygandt. The wines were aromatically complex and lovely, and were not heavy or over-extracted. There was fabulous density and length on the palate but with lightness and elegance in a Burgundan style - truly extraordinary and unusual! These...

3/29/18 - I never wanted to be a pirate, but when I was younger I developed a keen interest in Italian cinema. I remember sitting cross-legged on my parent's carpet watching Fellini's Amarcord, feeling entirely awe-struck, somewhat overwhelmed, like I was discovering a new language for the first time. Soon thereafter, I was hooked, devouring every film I could get my hands on by...

3/26/18 - The massive Sierra de Gredos mountain range is home to one of the highest peaks on mainland Spain, and a tiny community of talented winemakers on a quest toward the pinnacle of Grenache. Although they are a short drive west from Madrid, the Gredos mountains are among the most remote- and wild-feeling winegrowing zones in Spain. Blessed with an abundance of perfectly adapted,...

3/15/18 - To many wine shoppers, Portugal is mostly known for value whites and reds...and Port of course. Vinho Verde, for example, is a region that is synonymous with inexpensive, low alcohol thirst quenching white wines of the same name. Many people don't realize that there are red wines from Vinho Verde, let alone skin contact amphora aged whites and medieval-style field blends! Enter Aphros winery......

3/14/18 - The Italian wine scene has never been more exciting than it is now, with producers exploring new terriors in places like Mount Etna and Friuli, and utilizing many long neglected cultivars (ever hear of Ciliegiolo?).  In the rush to explore this incredible variety of new wines, excellent producers in more traditional areas like Silvio Messana of Montesecondo in Chanti often get short...

3/8/18 - Under the best of circumstances, organic and biodynamic viticulture is never easy. When you combine that with a marginal climate like that in Chablis the level of difficulty only increases. This is why we have such admiration for father and son vignerons Gérard and Lilian Duplessis. In an area known for industrial farming, the Duplessis family makes a beautiful array of terroir-specific...

3/2/18 - In the northwest reaches of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) one finds the Wachau, a region located about an hour's drive from Vienna. A brisk journey along the Danube river takes you past epic vistas of undulating mountains and hills striated with stone terraces lined with vines on both banks. Side valleys cut swaths through the mountains and massive forests descend in and around the vineyards. Cellars can be found in...