Constellation BrandsIn the late ’90s, Constellation Brands started buying up Napa wineries. At the time, they were an unknown wine company that produced low-end brands like Cribari. A lot of people …
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, …
MazzeiI’ve written about Tenuta Belguardo over the years. It’s a property owned by the Mazzei family of Chianti, which also owns Castello di Fonterutoli. They consistently put out wines that perform well above …
A 19th Century winery still manages to put out some serious juice, year in and year out. If you need an everyday bottle of Rioja, this will fit the bill. Aromas …
Rosé It’s about time America fell in love with rosé wines. We’ve been extolling the virtues of rosé since the 2006 vintage. Historically, one of the great spots for wine has been the Coteaux …
Sometimes you find a great bottle using a wine heuristic. Sometimes is simply picking up a bottle from a beloved-but-obscure wine region. The Apremont region in the Savoie department in France …
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 …
Maison BrotteIf you happen to be in the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, you’ll probably end up at the Musée du Vin. It’s attached to Maison Brotte, one of the oldest wineries in …
Located in Upper Wairau Valley, a remote corner in one of the most remote wine regions in the world, Hillersden is an interesting winery that is as much about Kiwi ingenuity …
This is the last vintage of this wine, so I’d recommend picking up a few bottles. A rock-solid cabernet that has the big oak and extraction one would expect for a …
Like much of Australian lingo, Chook has forboding silliness to it. WTF is a Chook? Is it an insult? A term of affection? I went looking for clues. In Shakespeare’s England, it …
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 …
Hecht & Bannier are a négociant winery based in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence. Since 2002, they’ve released several excellent red wines. However, it’s their rosé program that is getting noticed, …
Tenuta di Burchino is located in northern Tuscany, in the hills outside Pisa. I’ve some great wines from this producer, particularly their Genius Loic IGT from their “Le Corti” vineyard. They’ve …
Mont-Redon is one of those Chateauneuf du Pape wineries that totally messes with my life. They bottle wines like Zeus throws lightning bolts. Bolts. A place that throws out muscle-bound luxury …