“I like a good farmer!” says Jeanne-Marie De Champs, owner of Domaines et Saveurs Collection in Burgundy. Jeanne-Marie represents over seventy producers and exports them to various countries, including the USA and my favorite wine stores. Jeanne-Marie is responding to my question about how she chooses the producers she represents. Each one I’ve met [...]

La Maltroye Winemaker and Chateau de la Maltroye owner Jean-Pierre Cournet has the exotic look of a jet-set film star as opens the door and greets us in his gorgeous 18th century Chateau in Chassagne-Montrachet.  It is high on a hill, with a gorgeous view of the village and darkening sky. And there’s something a [...]

  “A French insurance company owns a Chateau?” the woman’s voice says, incredulous. Yes, one can imagine that most people think that a top wine chateau in Bordeaux is owned by a French aristocrat, yet the world has taken quite a turn since the days that this might have been the case. Today the French [...]

  Domaine Meo Camuzet is a gorgeous, very modern looking winery in Vosne-Romanee. For many years I have been very excited to visit, because I know that Jeanne-Marie De Champs, owner of Domaines Et Saveurs Collection who  represents many top Burgundy wineries for export, trusts Meo Camuzet exclusively to elevate the wines she buys at [...]

Nicole Lamarche and her mother “Welcome!” says Nicole Lamarche, a petite, dark haired young woman with a quick, confident manner that silently supports the fact she is a brilliant winemaker. Since 1997 she has taken responsibility for the family’s prestigious line-up of Grands Echezeaux, Echezeaux and Clos Vougeot, and the best of the Vosne 1er [...]

“Welcome,” says the affable Dominique Gallois, owner and winemaker at Domaine Gallois, as his friendly dog wags a greeting. We have just driven through the charming, historic village of Gevrey-Chambertin to arrive at Mr. Gallois’s home and cellar, where a child’s bicycle is parked near the front door and two enthusiastic-looking music and video producers [...]

  “Your grandfather actaually used that press!” I can’t help but exclaim, looking at the large, crude, roughly hewn 12th century wine press in the equally antiquated looking cellar. Anyone might believe it was used by ancient Mesapotanian slaves rather than a hard-toiling Burgundian winemaker atop a small hill in the appellation of Fixin. Yet [...]

  Curious about what wine to bring for Thanksgiving dinner? The most important consideration is to find a good “food wine” — especially wines that will pair well with thanksgiving foods like turkey and sweet potatoes that also have that elusive quality of “balance.” Below are three wines, a white and two reds, that you [...]

  Like Tempranillo? Ever tried an Oregon Tempranillo? Well, last night at the GastroArts Restaurant was the place to try it! Kevin Zraly, a world famous wine writer and educator, was at the helm of this special event to celebrate tempranillo. He assembled a crew of New York based judges in addition to an esteemed [...]

 Marianne Fabre-Lanvin and a friend Enguerrand Baijot, Brand Director, Lanson International Americas hosted a fabulous party last night at the Bubble Club where guests could taste 7 styles of Champagne Lanson. Founded in 1760, Lanson is one of the oldest Champagne houses. What distinguishes it from the other brands is that the wine does not [...]

  Like Malbec? Few people today know the story of how this traditional Argentine grape, previously grown as a low cost bulk wine for the local market, ended up in some of the highest-priced restaurants in the world. It all started in the eighties, when Nicholas Catena (whose family had been making wine for generations) [...]

“Very complex and elegant!” said a woman next to me, savoring a sip of 1993 Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino DOCG, the last wine to be tasted in a vertical that lasted nearly ninety minutes. Leading the tasting was vivacious Marco Caprai, who introduced each wine and discussed the vintages including 2007, 2005, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997, [...]

“I named the wines with numbers that represent key moments of my life,” says charming Jean-Charles Boisset, whose new collection of wines were presented at the glamorous Bacarrat store in Manhattan in a very posh event hosted by Anthony Dias Blue. The collection included sparklers, chardonnay, pinot noir, and a cabernet sauvignon, all named with [...]

  “20 wines!” exclaimed a fellow particpant at today’s Master Class tasting of Catalunya wines led by Josep Roca, Co-Proprietor, Sommelier, and Wine Director of the (Catalunya based) Michelin 3-star restaurant El Celler. He was in New York today to lead a Master Class tasting of 20 distinctive wines from Catalunya (all available in the [...]

Some excellent wines this week, an assortment of reds and whites from around the globe. Though diverse as a group, what unites them is their distinctive terroir. Terrezas de los Andes Reserva Malbec 2009 I visited this winery in Argentina last year and happy to have the chance to review it again, this time paired [...]

Fabulous comparative tasting with Anthony Hanson with 2005 and 2009. Just compared Nicholas Rolin Beaune first Cru and Volnay Santenots cuvée Jehan de Massol More to come.

We were promised a “week of fine and rare wine” and really experienced it today with this 1966 Port, 1971 Chateau d’Yquem, ’82 Conterno Barolo …. and Anthony Hanson MW of Christies giving a tutored tasting of red and white Cru Burgundy as well as a talk on the auction process. The day began at [...]