Wine certainly is natural. That is, it doesn’t need human intervention to exist. When the skins of ripe grapes...
Forget Natural Wine
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Paul Lukacs
Cadaretta, Columbia Valley (Washington) 2013
A Rhône style blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault, this wine tastes deep and earthy, though fresh plum and red berry...
Vintage Champagne for the Holidays
Celebrations call for Champagne. For centuries, this one wine has launched ships, enlivened parties, heralded peace...
Grgich Hills Estate, Napa Valley (California) Merlot 2012
If you think of California Merlot as soft but spineless, lacking both the complexity and power that distinguishes the...
Ports in Chilly Storms
Port is the ideal cold weather wine. With the forecast here on the east coast calling for the first frost of the season...
Louis M. Martini, Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Impressive on account of being substantial but nevertheless well balanced, this is a very fine Napa Cabernet. The wine is...
Chappellet, Napa Valley (California) Chenin Blanc 2014
Thirty years ago, Chappellet was well known for Chenin Blanc, the wines widely considered the best California renditions of the...
Duckhorn, Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Franc 2013
Wonderfully (and seductively) aromatic, with a floral perfume that fairly leaps out of glass, compelling you to take a sip, this...
The Myth of Aging
Is aging potential a necessary aspect of a great wine? Not a good or pleasurable wine, but a truly great one? ...
Thinking Taste
I have a neighbor who will drink only red wine. White wines don’t give him headaches or cause him digestive...
Michel Chapoutier, Les Vignes de Bila-Haut (Côtes du Rousillon Villages, France) 2014
A juicy quaffing wine, full of fresh fruit flavors, with pliant tannins and an appealing finish, this is an easy to enjoy...
Le Vigne di Eli, Etna Rosso DOC (Sicily, Italy) 2011
Made primarily with Nerello Mascalese, a red grape variety that grows on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna, this is an enticing...