Driving up to the big, beautiful and old stone farmhouse of Laurent and Marie-Clothilde Tribut, I was impressed. It looked like quite a large operation. When no one replied to my knock at the door, I took a few pushes on the swing in the seemingly centuries old tree in the front yard while I waited for someone to arrive.
Read MoreJean-Claude and his wife oversee 12 hectares and run their miniscule winery based in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne north of the town of Chablis. Jean-Claude took over from his father about 30 years ago, and his son, Romain – a drum-playing jazz musician – now works with him.
Read MoreThe 2016 vintage will long live as a legend in Chablis. Everything that could have happened in a growing season did. Brows furrowed deeper and more hair turned gray - or even white -than in any vintage in recent memory. In fact, even the old timers say they’ve never seen anything like it.
Read MoreI remember the first time I visited Stony Hill and Sarah McCrea, daughter of the founders and the Sales and Marketing Director, told me that they try to emulate Chablis in their Chardonnay.
Read MoreRolando and Lorena Herrera’s small production (430 cases) Chardonnay is a richly scented and highly textured wine that appeals to lovers of exotic Chardonnay styles.
Read MoreI've been tasting these wines in consecutive vintages for about four years now, and I love every vintage. This is superior juice offered at reasonable prices. Don't miss out!
Read MoreI hope this wine will be made only once. I write that only because of the extraordinary circumstances under which it was created, not because of the wine. The wine is perfectly delightful.
Read MoreFEL Wines is the newborn of the Cliff Lede duo of wine estates. Lede began his wine adventures in Napa in 2002, making Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. I distinctly remembering visiting in 2006 and tasting those first wines. They were good, so it isn’t too surprising the company’s expansion into the Anderson Valley is making good juice.
Read MoreThis new wine delivers enormous QPR. The Gloria Ferrer wines always have, but this wine really outdoes itself!
Read MoreHailing from a corner of Lazio that overlaps Umbria – almost smack in the center of Italy, this family-run estate makes wines primarily from international grape varieties. Whereas most Italian wines made from “outsider” grapes tend to be rich and boisterous, these are all incredibly graceful.
I am so jazzed to see so many full-throttle, high-quality wines arriving to the US shores from South Africa these days. At last! I used to drink most of this country’s ambitious to high quality wines almost soley in the UK. Here are some of my latest tastings of SA wines in New York City. I loved every one of these bottles.
Read MoreI recently learned that Limoux was the second most-imported-to-the-USA French, traditional method sparkler after Champagne. Who knew?
Read MoreSokol Blosser 2013 Pinot Noir Estate Orchard Block Dundee Hills: This is much too young to open now. Had I only known! This is a feisty kiddo now that needs some time to settle down and expand its horizons further.
Read MoreLieb Cellars 2013 Sparkling Rosé Reserve: Impressively vinous, this pale, peach-colored sparkler is made of two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay. It smells of rose petals, honeydew melon and fuzzy peach skin.
Read MoreSome wines stop you in mid-thought. They tend to be polarizing and are either heart-stoppingly delicious or revolting. This is a beauty.
Read MoreLa Chablisienne 2014 Petit Chablis Pas Si Petit: This cuvée is composed of fruit from over 280 grape growers dedicated to one of France’s best cooperatives! Its laser-like acidity initially gives the wine a chiseled feel on the palate, but a swarm of fruit quickly follows to make this accessible and easy to sip.
Read MoreIlili offers the most expansive list of Lebanese wines in the US. The owners’ ambition is to soon offer the largest list of Lebanese wines in the world. The selections are rounded out by a number of wines from the US, France, Italy and Spain, as well as a few other key regions. Perhaps the best news is that the wines are very kindly priced.
Read MoreCopain Wines mix European stylistic sensibility with Californian fruit. To add a layer of complexity, these wines are made in Healdsburg, one of Sonoma’s sweetest towns, yet none are made with Sonoma fruit. Alas, it’s hardly the first time something in the wine world has seemed contradictory. What is utterly clear with Copain Wines, however, is that they are supremely delicious.
Read MoreEntirely different from this artisan’s heavenly vintage 2002 bottling I tried in Austria in 2012, I was a bit at a loss as to what to do with it, even with a vibrantly acidic seafood dish.
Read MoreThe unassuming and ultimate wine guru host Aldo Sohm just opened a wine bar with chef Eric Ripert. The duo has long worked their Midtown magic at Le Bernardin, which connects to the wine bar by underground passage. In this chic yet comfy space permeated by 60’s, 70’s and 80’s tunes, you can feast on wine selections geared to the geek, yet not foreign to the main-streamer.
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