When I poured the wine by candlelight and the yeasty smell hit the air, my friend asked, what is that, beer? “Beer made with grapes,” I quipped. There was something... read more →
Fabrice Dodane is doing particularly beautiful work on the whites; the terroir shines through. From the melon queue to the 2008 sous voile, these should be on your scan. I... read more →
Having worked at both Prieuré Roch and Domaine de Chassorney gives a fair idea of the lineage Nicolas Testard comes from. He’s got 11 hectares in Saint-Étienne-la-Varenne, about a 17-minute... read more →
I’ve been waiting for the U Stiliccionu wines to be available in the States for two years because of its taste of place and sense of life. This is a... read more →
The past event coordinator for Slow Foods brought this to dinner when I was in Emilia. He also brought a big, fat, stinky, gorgeous truffle. So I suppose I was... read more →
What a fun wine that has a glug-glug deliciousness about it. Pinot noir really has such an interesting expression in this part of Piemonte. The fruit is just enough to... read more →
I sampled this in the States, in Slovenia and in France, and I did a double-take every time. The blend is pretty exciting. The fruit is co-fermented with 8 to... read more →
This wine has been absent in the United States. The reason, according to La Stoppa’s Elena Pantaleoni, is because of merlot and cabernet’s lack of popularity with those who look... read more →
I recently visited Paolo and we’ll talk about the Kars in an upcoming issue. But when we were in his marani (he vinifies completely in qvevri), he mentioned that his... read more →
The grapes get one month of skin fermentation. The wine ages for 18 months in barrel. Franz is a genius with blauer wildbacher, whether in this still wine or in... read more →