I started assessing the wines of South Africa soon after they began returning to our shores in the 1990s. At that point,...
Wine Review Online | Columns
Unraveling the Mysteries of Terroir . . . Maybe
Last month, scientists, professors, winemakers, journalists, and students gathered for three days at the University of...
Western Australia: A Different Style of Shiraz
Shiraz (aka Syrah) is now firmly in place as Australia's most popular grape--and wine. But it wasn't always that...
A Champagne Man Is California Dreaming
The Champagne region of France has the loftiest reputation for sparkling wines, while Spain leads the world in the quantity of...
C.G. Di Arie: Telltale Signs of a Rising Star
It was an interesting sight. There were 100 bottles of wine lined up on my kitchen counter with only a sip or two missing from...
Corison: Not Just Any Napa Cabernet
In 1975, Cathy Corison was a young biology student at Pomona College in Claremont, California, when she had the epiphany that...
Montelena at the Summit
The release of Chateau Montelena's 2002 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is noteworthy for several reasons: the wine is terrific, and...
World Pinot Party
In March, Pinot Noir fanatics from all over the world gather in Shell Beach, CA for a festival called World of Pinot Noir, which...
Refined Reds from the Wild West
The labels say "product of Australia," but red wines from Western Australia are about as un-Australian as you can get. ...
Rías Baixas: Spain’s Great White Wine Region
On my first trip to Galicia's Rías Baixas district a couple of years ago, I thought that I had entered another country. ...
Wild West Whites…Aussie Style
This is part one of a two part series. Michael Apstein will ring in later this month with a report on Western Australian...
Climate and Soils Drive the Flavors in Spain’s Rias Baixas
On my first trip to Galicia's Rías Baixas district a couple of years ago, I thought that I had entered another...