Articles

Pierre-Yves Colin needs very little introduction. In the past decade, he's gone from rising star to full-fledged sensation in Burgundy and his wines have achieved "must-buy" status among sommeliers, collectors, and Burgundy drinkers alike. Pierre-Yves started working at his father’s winery (Domaine Marc Colin) in 1994, where he was the winemaker until the 2005 vintage. While at his father’s domaine, he started a negociant...

5/31/2016 In the world of fine rums, Ed Hamilton needs no introduction. He is the man behind the Ministry of Rum – a line of hand-selected, pot still rums from St. Lucia and Jamaica – as well as importer of the famed Lemon Hart 151 and Rhum Agricoles such as Neisson and La Favorite. A modern-day pirate of sorts, Hamilton's career in rum officially started...

[Flavio Roddolo, Bricco Appiani] “Entrare nella cantina di Flavio Roddolo e un po come varcare la soglia di un luogo in ciu il tempo si e fermato. Fare il vino, nella cascina di Bricco Appiani, vuol dire saperlo aspettare pazientemente. Flavio e la sintesi perfetta del vignaiolo che ascolta e osserva, schivo ma capace di comunicare la sua filosofia produttiva. Un grande vecchio di...

Back in 2015, while I was making my way through a wine show in France, I noticed the dark blue label of a wine I'd had the pleasure of enjoying many years ago . I pointed at the wine, and looked up to find the proud smile of Jacques Maillet - a man whom I had never met, but whose wines were some of the...

12/18/2015 Although Vouette et Sorbée only started releasing Champagnes about 10 years ago, the domaine has grown in stature, mentioned in the same reverent conversations as rising stars Cédric Bouchard, Dominique Moreau (Marie Courtin), and Pascal Agrapart. Bertrand Gautherot used to sell grapes to other Champagne producers, but after some convincing by a famous Champagne friend (Anselme Selosse), he started producing Champagne under his...

Have you had this experience? On your way to visit X (here insert known name like Mugnier or Mascarello), you pass little side roads with arrowed-signs naming producers you’ve never heard of, and you think: statistically there must be someone among these who actually makes really good wine. There are plenty of reasons why you might not know their name. Perhaps they’ve sold their...

[Geraud Fromont in a parcel of young Trousseau vines. Photo: Guilhaume Gerard] The Sud Revermont area of the Jura has become a small hub for terroir-driven, natural wines that more than titillate the palate. Beginning with the renowned Jean-Francois Ganevat, the philosophy for making wines of nature and terroir has spread to his neighbors Peggy and Jean-Pascal Buronfosse who started their domaine in 2000,...

[Lise and Bertrand Jousset (Photo: Wine Terroirs)] We are proud to feature new arrivals from Lise and Bertrand Jousset, two of the nicest vignerons we have ever met, who make beautiful wines of nature from their 11 hectares in and around Montlouis-sur-Loir. Primarily working with Chenin Blanc in Montlouis, they also grow Gamay, Grolleau and Chardonnay on parcels in Touraine. The vines are between...

[Stefano Novello of Ronco Severo with his son, the next generation of winemakers.] We all love Italian wine. Grapes like Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio and Vermentino are very familiar, but many of the lesser-known indigenous grapes of Italy will soon be sharing the spotlight. According to Ian D’Agata’s comprehensive Native Wine Grapes of Italy, the country cultivates roughly 2,000 native grape varieties. Although just...

We’ve never been so excited by a German liquor! In Germany, there are a variety of delicious herbal spirits, but few make it to our shores outside of the frat house favorite Jägermeister. This is a gross injustice considering how broad the selection of Italian, French and even American bottles are on New York City shelves. Happily for us, a pair of delightful new...

10/15/2014 ("L'Ubac" Clos du Rouge Gorge (Photo: E. Lillie)) We are proud to offer wines from one of the finest producers of natural/biodynamic wines in France, Cyril Fhal at Clos du Rouge Gorge. The wines of the Clos du Rouge Gorge are elegant, balanced and full of character, perhaps the finest from the new generation of wine-makers in the Languedoc-Roussillon. They are products of...

(What to have with your Amarone?) We wanted to alert you to a great buy on a really good Amarone, the famous and fantastic rich red wine from the Veneto in northern Italy. Then we started thinking about some other wines that are made the same way. Our intended focus is on Musella’s Amarone, which is a steal for the quality, but you may...

10/15/2013 Chateau Musar occupies a unique place among great wine estates.  Located in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, one of the ancient world's most important agricultural regions, Musar produces natural wines from varieties well known elsewhere (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carignan, Grenache and Cinsault) and native grapes (Merwah and Obaideh, relatives and ancestors of Semillon and Chardonnay).Planted in the 1930 by Gaston Hochar, the vineyard today is...

9/22/2013 Our good friend Wink Lorch is making her last visit to the Jura before the publication of her much anticipated book on the region. A report on the 2013 vintage has given us reason to stock up on wines from the Jura. As in many places in Western Europe this year, there’s been a desperate struggle for ripeness in the Jura, and many...

Koehler-Ruprecht was a pioneer in crafting high quality, age-worthy dry Rieslings in Germany way before doing so became fashionable. We love their wines and had the great fortune of re-introducing them to the market with the riveting 2010 vintage, one in which even their humble entry-level wines are savory, mineral and outstanding. Anyone who has come into the shop looking for a dry Riesling...