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…
It’s well known that 2012 was an exceptional growing season for California’s star Cabernets, especially in comparison to the complicated 2011 vintage. The quality of the wines that resulted from the 2012 harvest is accompanied by a spectacular volume produced. With 500,000 tons of Cabernet grapes harvested, California has never seen such a large production…
Pinot Noir has been in production more than 1,000 years longer than Cabernet Sauvignon, yet it is increasingly rare to find a bottle that lives up to this varietal’s elegant reputation. Only the finest estates are able to grow these difficult grapes to the perfection Pinot Noir deserves. As wine writer Bob Thompson famously…
Over the past 50 years, Port wine has amassed a reputation as an old-fashioned drink traditionally drunk with dessert. However, a Nielsen study found that more than 21 percent of Port drinkers are under the age of 44, a higher percentage of young drinkers than any other fortified wine, including Sherry. This is partly…
Over the past 10 years, more and more wine producers are using skin-contact pigeage on white wines, a practice that for centuries was viewed as a flaw in white varietals. Every year, dozens of guests gather barefoot at Peju Province, tucked away in the dry hills of Napa Valley. There, they sink their freshly-cleaned feet…
When I took a family wine tour of my hometown near Napa Valley a few years ago, we were all ecstatic about trying a 25-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon that my friend had kept on her estate for a special occasion. We opened the bottle, savored the intense violet bouquet, and took our first sip.…
When we talk about fine winemaking techniques, chances are that horses and cows don’t enter the equation. What many of the most discerning wine connoisseurs don’t realize is that livestock can create a wine more vivid in flavor than any previous vintage on the same estate. Not only do animals naturally fertilize the vineyard’s soil,…
Sonoma winemaker Adam Lee once said, “I’m just not a fan of Brett, whether it’s a lot or a little. It’s like someone saying they’re a little bit pregnant.” Most wine connoisseurs would agree with him, but trendsetters are taking an entirely new approach to this long-maligned quality in wines. Biodynamic producers such as Terroir…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: Screaming Eagle Of the many excellent, highly-acclaimed wines of Napa Valley, why does Screaming Eagle soar above the rest? Not only does this winery enjoy a reputation as one of the finest producers in the United States (if not the world), it’s also one of the most exclusive. These wines, cultivated…
Collecting Bordeaux will complete your fine wine portfolio; the classic wines make an excellent investment. In the world of wine, some things never change. The critics’ collective opinion of the best Bordeaux wines, which was established over 150 years ago, remains largely unchanged today. In 1855, during an international exhibition in Paris, the best Bordeaux…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: Chateau d’Yquem Domaine Henri Jayer Chateau Petrus Domaine de la Romanee Conti Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Chateau Cheval Blanc Sometimes wines of the same vintage and varietal can vary significantly in price. This leads even collectors to ask: what determines a wine’s price? What is the difference between a $30 Pinot Noir from…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: Domaine de la Romanee Conti Domaine Leroy Domaine Armand Rousseau Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Bouchard Pere & Fils The French countryside has that je ne sais quoi. The romanticism of Flaubert novels and Eric Rohmer films is still very much alive in the sunny meadows, flowery gardens, rolling hills,…