The American love of Chardonnay started in the 1960s with Chassagne-Montrachet: the elegant and beautiful white wines from that Chardonnay sweet spot in Burgundy, France. When winemakers in Napa and Sonoma were …
ContinoContino is the first and remains one of the greatest single-vineyard Rioja producers in the marketplace. Based on 19th Century French château’s ideals, Contino has been CVNE’s premier label since 1973. …
Walla Walla is one of the great unheralded wine regions in America. I’ve always believed that’s largely due to the name. Walla Walla, Washington doesn’t have the elegant flow of Napa, California. L’Ecole …
Oregon Goes To WashingtonThe first time I heard of an Oregon winery making wine with Washington State fruit sounded a little odd. Why would an Oregon winery buy grapes from so …
Art vs Artists I’ve never really cared much about an artist’s life. If their work inspires me, I don’t need to be weighted down with their ideas on religion or politics. …
Mark HeroldMark’s new tasting room just opened in Napa –just down from the Oxbow Public Market– a scant three months before I reviewed his wines. I loved the room –super fun …
Cambria WineryCambria has always been that tiny corner of the Kendall-Jackson empire that didn’t have that smell of overstuffed marketing. It was the family home of Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, …
The Wine Critic’s DilemmaSometimes a wine review doesn’t start with the wine but how the writer discovered it. Finding great wines at any price point would be impossible if I were …
This is an older article from the Wine School, originally publishing in May, 2018. Jonathan Newman, the former Chairman of the PLCB is selling wine to Tim Holden, the current PLCB Chairman …
A Historic Napa Wine This is a landmark bottle of Napa wines. One of those historic wines that fly under the radar these days. Let’s let the old guard take up …
A barrel-fermented, barrel-aged, full buttery bomb MLF of a Chardonnay. This bottle is largely sourced from the Goldfields Vineyard in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley; this bottle offers exactly what you’d expect …
In most classes at the wine school, I behave myself. I don’t let my deep love of Cali Chardonnay get in the way of a great wine class. Back when I …
Knights ValleyOne of the top pieces of advice I can give anyone is this: if you want to buy great wines at a discount, don’t buy from famous places. Case in …
The Ant ManYeah, so Ant is the guy’s name. Short for Anthony. Yeah, that’s a thing. He’s one of those up-from-nothing and built a small wine empire kind of guys. He also …
I was going to include this in my recent Barolo & Beyond class, but at the last minute, I swapped it out for the Oreste Buzio 2016 Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese.Why? …
Sokol BlosserSokol Blosser is one of those wineries everyone should know about. It’s a historic family-owned Oregon winery that keeps on producing quality wines. It’s great to see the current generation …