Alfredo Maestro is indeed a maestro. His wines, all of them, always delight. He’s a pioneer in Peñafiel in the Ribera del Duero where natural is virtually unheard of, shifting... read more →
Love these pioneers making Franken safe again for grapes. Here is a refresher that is pure and joyful from the bacchus grape, which was birthed in 1933 and is a... read more →
If I had my way carignan would be one of the major grapes of California. The reason? You get a perfectly ripe and lovely wine at reasonable alcohol levels. Jason... read more →
The 2016 vintage in Austria was the summer of no sun. But in the best of hands, some of the wines were fab. So here you go, Franz’s Blauer Wildbacher... read more →
This might be one of the rosés of the season for me. For one, I dig syrah as a pink wine—there’s something firm and interesting about it. Here it’s all... read more →
From the granitic Gredos mountains in the Vinos de Madrid DO, 80km west of the city, comes another stunner at an easy price from four friends onto a good thing.... read more →
There are some wines that don’t hit you at first. They sneak up on you and go all heart-throbby. This is one of them. Gabrio Bini is an architect who... read more →
Benôit Marguet’s champagnes are fantastic and this one did not fail to charm. It was, and is, champagne. 67% Chardonnay and 33% Pinot Noir from the villages of Ambonnay and... read more →
The poet vigneron from South Africa, Thomas Lubbe lives and works in Calce and continues to create wines that are lyrical. This one is a co-ferment of red and white... read more →
I have fond memories of walking into Paris’s Racines (when Pierre Jancou reigned) and frequently seeing the tousled-headed, boxer-visaged Christian Venier sitting at the bar. Whatever he brought with him... read more →