The 2011 London International Wine Fair was fabulous, an extremely well-orchestrated event with many simultaneous tastings, presentations, and lectures that took place in theaters, ‘Access Points,’ and even ‘freestyle’ in high-topped chairs within the display of a geographic region or winery. Masterclasses Arriving on Tuesday, I started off with the Circle of Wine [...]

So excited to read the June 30, 2011 issue of Wine Spectator and see that Mr. Molesworth has given some of my favorite wineries top points! I also tasted these wines at En Primeur, and agree with his notes. Happy to see that Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron (Pauillac 2010) received 95 – 98 points, with Mr. [...]

  “I’ll have what she’s having,” says a woman sitting at an outdoor café in Soho, watching a couple enjoy a refreshing glass of a pale pink wine, the bottle chilling in a silver ice bucket. Just what is it about Rosé wine that brings out the joy of summer? Rosé wine is just what [...]

This week I had the opportunity to try some excellent new wines from Xavier Flouret! Xavier Flouret 2009 Flaca Torrentes Style note: Elegant wine with subtle floral nose, intense minerality, and a palate that offers concetrated yet subtle ripe peach/apricot backed with firm minerality and a long finish. Perfect with fish or chicken. Xavier Flouret [...]

Elizabeth Marston and Husband Jamie of Marston Family Winery at Park Avenue Spring   Last Thursday it was very exciting to meet Elizabeth Marston and her husband Jamie, who with Elizabeth’s parents run Marston Family Vineyard in the Napa Valley. Of course, with Auction Napa Valley 2011 (# ANV11) beginning this coming June 2, 2011 [...]

“All I wanted was an almond croissant,” says winemaker and co-woner Les Behrens of Erna Schein winery (formerly known as Behrens & Hitchcock). Les is talking about the fateful day in 1996 when he and wife and winery co-owner Lisa Drinkward drove to Los Angeles and had the fortuitous idea of dropping a bottle of [...]

Franck Duboeuf Have you heard that Beaujolais Cru is the hot new wine of 2010? Buzz started building with the 2009 vintage, and from today’s tasting from Georges Duboeuf, the 2010 rock as well. The official release of the 2010 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Crus took place at the very chic Millesime restaurant in New York [...]

  So you know all about the e-auction that opens May 29, 2011 in alignment with the Auction Napa Valley 2011, yes? I am spotlighting certain producers and interesting lots that every wine lover (and supporter of the Napa Valley’s charities) should know about. Today the focus is on Signorello Estates … a premium winery [...]

 Communications Director Thibaut Le Mailloux (with champagne)   “I was on an airline flight in business class,” a woman once told me, “and when she offered Champagne, I expected the real thing. What a surprise to find it was a sparkling wine from California!” Few Americans differentiate between a sparkling wine and a Champagne, yet [...]

  Some people like the excitement and energy of a live auction … others prefer to relax in the comfort of their own (international!) homes. Yes, the Napa Valley Auction is now also electronic … starting May 29, 2011 wine lovers around the globe can bid on and win lots.  There are lots of fun [...]

  Look at the incredible aerial view of Marston Family Vineyard above … even so far away, one gets an incredible sense of the soil that produces such incredible Cabernet Sauvignon. Marston Family Vineyard was first planted in the late 1890’s on the southern slopes of Spring Mountain, just west of St. Helena. The vineyard [...]

  Well, we’re not quite out of the economic recession — yet! Still, people all over the world recognize the caveat that “Living Well is the Best Revenge” and continue to enjoy the best life has to offer. Recently, I attended dinner party at Adour, an Alain Ducasse restaurant in Manhattan, that was all about [...]

  I am so excited! I just finalized arrangements for attending the Auction Napa Valley 2011! Having attended for many years, it’s really one of the highlights of the wine world. Its a chance to meet the true wine legends in a very congenial and relaxed setting. I met Robert Mondavi this way, having been [...]

Director’s Cut 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay Style:  Straw in color, subtle nose reveals tropical fruits (guava, pineapple, honeysuckle) that extend to the medium-weight palate along with flavors of ripe peach. Juicy and rich, the wine has lively medium+ acidity and a spicy finish.  8 months aging in an even blend of new/older french oak. [...]

“What an incredible value!” said a retailer, listiening to Master of Wine (MW) Sam Harrop presenting a 45 minute seminar at the Loire Project Ambassador Booth at stand F60/2. In this jam-packed, standing-room only crowd, Mr. Harrop spoke eloquently about different regions in the Loire that produce the Sauvignon Varietal, noting the different terroir, and [...]

  Katsaros Wine   Have you tried a Greek wine recently? The news is that Greece is offering incredibly well made wines, very dry, citrus-oriented, and delicius with food. In New York last week, Steve Olson and Doug Frost MW / MS led a talk introducing various varieties, pairing them with Greek cuisine. In a [...]

  We’ve all heard the story of Cleopatra’s legendary powers of seduction over Julius Caesar and later, Mark Antony. Yet consider this. What if the tool of seduction wasn’t Cleopatra’s famed beauty, but her secret stash of a bright ruby red sparkling wine with a bouquet of roses and violets? Ancient historians write of a [...]

Joshua Greene with Movia owner/winemaker pointing … topic: natural wine movement Wow, talk about a wine education! While everyone else was enjoying the delicious wine at the Top of the List Tasting, I was attending three fabulous seminars with the luminaries in the wine world. Santorini Beyond Greece W&S senior editor Tara Q. Thomas lead [...]

Does the above picture effectively showcase the “dream” of Southern France? That blue sky, with the white puffs of clouds, is real. And from this fresh, sunny climate we also get the wines of Gerard Bertrand, who owns six estates in the Languedoc. Today at a Per Se launch of his 2010 Gris Blanc Rosé [...]

  Imagine yourself in Ampuis in 1781.  This is a tiny town in the Northern Rhone, famous for its red wine made from Syrah and white from Viognier. Joseph Vidal-Fleury, the founder of Vidal Fleury, was an important grower and negotiant. Today this is the Rhone valley’s continuously operating winery. Since the 1980s Vidal-Fleury has [...]