If you write about wine long enough, there are certain brands with which you become very comfortable in ordering or...
Bonterra, Mendocino County (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
The Bonterra brand, now owned by Concha y Toro, waved the flag of organic production long before it became popular and now...
Jumping into a Tolpuddle with Both Feet
I sometimes have the morbid thought that today’s winery owners and winemakers all wish, upon their final departure to that...
Perla Terra, Barolo DOCG (Piedmont, Italy) 2018
Dalla Terra has specialized over the years in representing good-quality-for-price Italian family wineries spread out...
Stags’ Leap Winery, Napa Valley (California) Petite Sirah 2018
The different spelling of the name (where, and whether, the apostrophe shows up) and his love of Petite Sirah were what...
Domaines Bournet-Lapostolle, Apalta (Chile) 2019
Each time I reread the saga of the Bournet-Lapostolle family, first in France and then in Chile, it reminds me of the...
Villa Maria, Marlborough (New Zealand) Pinot Noir 2020
I remember touring Villa Maria’s gigantic winery outside of Auckland in 2005 and first getting the revelation that...
Marqués de Riscal, Rioja Reserva (Spain) 2016
I have long thought that Bordeaux lovers who could only afford lesser growths should instead invest in reds from Rioja,...
19 Crimes, California (United States) Chardonnay 2021
I’ve long admired Martha for her intelligence, creativity and tenacity in the face of adversity – and prison...
The Words of Wine: Quotables from The Past Year
One of the pleasures of writing about wine is having the opportunity to regularly have discussions with people who make wine,...
Tabarrini, Montefalco DOCG (Umbria, Italy) Sagrantino 2016
The Sagrantinos of Umbria provide the most puckery of French wine kisses, the epitome of astringent phenolics, which...
Luce, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (Tuscany, Italy) 2017
Luce Brunello is perhaps not as well known as its Super Tuscan IGT brother, “Luce,” whose flavors are mellowed...