There’s something about Styria, its soul, I guess. I can’t think of any one of the natural guys down there in southeast Austria who isn’t deeply committed, almost spiritual, about... read more →
Magali Tissot and Ludovic Bonnelle make soulful wines down in Buzet, just south of Bordeaux. And that’s just what I remembered, when I tasted their surprising sauvignon grown on gravel,... read more →
Why are we mostly denied Patrick Sullivan’s wines in the United States? He’s the king of soif. This one delivers tangerine citrusy joy and immediately puts a smile on my... read more →
Ischia, the volcanic island in the middle of the Bay of Naples, is now more famous for the beach scenes in Elena Ferrante’s novels than for wine. For good reason.... read more →
Claude and his son Etienne work in a part of the Loire full of forest. Here is a different expression of sauvignon blanc than the Quartz (to the right). From... read more →
A crazy blend of red and white grapes with floral, bacon and tannin, savory and sandy from one of my favorite producers in Emilia-Romagna.
Want to flip people out? Give a sancerre lover this and tell them it’s the same grape. This is a big load of love from a sensitive winemaker in South... read more →
My TFLWS is going to love me and hate me for this polarizing wine. First, a sauvignon blanc from the hot hills outside of Madrid? How non-traditional! Well, the vines... read more →
Étienne Courtois shares the Quartz vineyard with his father Claude. Their vines are mostly older, own-rooted, protected from phyloxera by the area’s ultra-sandy soils. This is an exuberant, elegant drink.... read more →
I visited Sepp’s Southern Austrian vines five years back. They’re lush and vibrant. On that afternoon, I was a happy little girl in the mountains, instead of a morose one... read more →