Profiles in Courage—Reactions

Female symbol surrounded by wine industry words.

Our Spotlight last week on vintner Ashley Trout’s fiery decision to submit her wines exclusively to female wine critics for review (WineSpeed 3/17/2023) elicited lots of comments from WineSpeed readers. If you missed it, Trout—the… Continue reading

Australian White Wines—Top Picks

(And They Are All Steals)

A selection of Australian white wines.

Delicious white wine. Australia? I know; I know. Lots of people don’t equate the two. But maybe they should. In a recent office tasting, we were knocked out by the quality of Australian white wines—and… Continue reading

TOP BORDEAUX—My Eight TOP Picks Available Now

Logo for Union Grands Crus Bordeaux

While First Growth Bordeaux is stratospherically priced, there are scores of stellar 2020 vintage Bordeaux (red and white) now coming onto the market that—though not exactly steals—are pretty affordable given their track records. Here are… Continue reading

The Best Rosé Champagnes

Just in Time for Valentine’s Day

Bottle image from tasting of rosé Champagnes.

Champagne is a wine, a place, and a state of mind. Which is one of the reasons it’s perfect in the lead up to Valentine’s Day. Some people might think they want a box of… Continue reading

Wine and Emotion

A Winemaker’s Thoughts

James McNeill Whistler's rendering of a wineglass

Chris Carpenter has been the longtime winemaker of Cardinale, La Jota, Lokoya, and Mt. Brave—four top estates—all in the Napa Valley. Last year I asked him about wine’s connection to emotion. What is it about… Continue reading

My Top 10 Bargain Wines to Start the Year

You Can’t Go Wrong with These Reds!

wallet

I hope you splurged in December, my friends, because January is austerity month. Time to give that credit card a rest, or at least put a reasonable cap on your expenditures. I’m not talking about… Continue reading

My Top Wines of the Year

The Short List of What Not to Miss

Photo of wine bottle

I am so excited to tell you about these wines—wines that we fell in love with this past year. Some are expensive, but they are all so good that just a single bottle becomes a… Continue reading

My Favorite Champagnes of the Year

Buy These for the Holidays and New Year’s Eve!

As some of you know, I drink a glass of Champagne every night. For me, Champagne demarcates the day from the night. It says the evening has begun. And because I immediately “recork” the bottle with… Continue reading

The (Unthinkable) End of Wine?

Shattered wine glass

Four years ago, the World Economic Forum reported that extreme, volatile weather events would cause 12 crops to be extinct within the next few decades. One of those crops was wine grapes. This can’t possibly… Continue reading

Best Restaurant All Year…

colorful food

The new French Laundry lives—and it’s in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Ok, it’s not the French Laundry (the Napa Valley restaurant owned by chef Thomas Keller). But the new restaurant ōkta in the small… Continue reading

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