When asked about the future of rosé wine, Chez Lavinia owner Virginie Morvan said, “There’s a real change in the thinking about rosé. It used to be for the barbecue or on the ‘terrasse’ or for the holidays and festivals in the sun. But now, winegrowers are investing in making wine that can be…
From its birth in 1994, Sine Qua Non has been a must-try cult winery. Robert Parker gave the young winery a boost when he awarded Krankl’s first-ever Sine Qua Non release a score of 95. At the time, this was the highest score any American Rhône blend had ever received. The estate’s immense popularity…
When sommelier Tali Dalbaha proposed an idea to her partnered restaurant, City Winery, in New York, the restaurant owners weren’t sure at first whether she could pull it off. Dalbaha wanted to find all 61 bottles from the original 1855 Classification growths in Bordeaux, under the most sought-after 2010 vintage. She was one of…
Champagne has been hailed as the king of wine for centuries, but over the past 10 years, it is slowly being replaced in popularity by sparkling wine from other regions. Sparkling wine sales in other countries have increased by 40 percent, selling about 2.3 billion bottles globally every year, compared to Champagne’s 3 million…
In 1988, billionaire Bill Koch bought the wine of a lifetime: four pristine 1784 Lafite bottles owned by Thomas Jefferson himself. Koch paid wine collector Hardy Rodenstock nearly $500,000 for the privilege of owning a piece of wine history. In 2005, Koch submitted his bottles to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, but soon discovered…
With wine fraud, it’s difficult to know how widespread the problem is until major collectors like Bill Koch become its victims. The wine industry brings in about $300 billion per year in revenue, but experts believe that hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits are made exclusively on fake or mislabeled wine. A recent study…
On public radio station NHPR, Chef Evan Mallett describes the first time he tried oxidized wine at a Parisian restaurant, Saturne.1 A decade ago, Saturne’s owner would have been committing a major faux pas by knowingly serving an oxidized wine to a customer, since this wine quality is considered a fatal bottle flaw. However,…
The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) can teach collectors a great deal about the 1855 Classification, including what these old classifications mean in the modern wine market. As Liv-ex released its latest update in September, we find patterns in the organization’s findings that tell us more about the market value of top Bordeaux blends, and…
While many serious wine collectors focus on vintages from years when the growing conditions were ideal, for collectors who look at wine as an investment, this may not be the best approach. Off-vintages cost less up front than premium vintages, and also appreciate at a rapid rate. For example, 2008 Bordeaux vintages cost, on average,…
Have you ever wondered how Chardonnay grapes grow across a variety of terroirs? Whether in Chablis or the south of France, Chardonnay can be grown to perfection despite the drastic difference in climate. The answer lies with clones; France is home to 34 distinct subspecies of Chardonnay grapes that are specifically bred for the climates…
More than 20 years ago, serious wine collectors never spoke about New Zealand wines. Despite an ideal climate and rocky terrain, the country’s producers only began cultivating grapevines in earnest in the late 1980s. Today, wine is New Zealand’s largest export, earning more than $1.3 billion annually. The popularity of New Zealand wines has…
The most delicious dessert I’ve had in my life was accompanied by a beautifully-aged, off-dry Riesling from Napa Valley. Two years later, I remember that wine more than I remember that dessert. Despite the gooey custard of that creme brulee, crisped to perfection on top, it was the Riesling that made the experience memorable. The…