DO OLD VINES MATTER?
I once found myself staring at a grenache vineyard in the southern Rhône Valley, along with a young California winemaker and a famous French winemaker. The latter was showing us the old vineyard that had… Continue reading
Truly Hard to Swallow
Asbestos in Wine?
Guest Blog by Nina Rosas Note from Karen: Our friend Nina Rosas, a lover of wine who has worked in the industry for over 20 years, spent hours researching this alarming piece on the historic… Continue reading
Napa Valley’s Top Cabernet Sauvignons
The 75th Anniversary of the Napa Valley Vintners seems like a great time to open one of the valley’s stunning top cabernet sauvignons (read on for a list of my top choices), and to think… Continue reading
OK, So It’s Not a Volcano!
Note from Karen MacNeil: My friend the geologist David Howell, a former scientist with the United States Geologic Survey and now a visiting instructor on geology and wines at Stanford University, has become our go-to… Continue reading
The Delicious “Sister” of Brunello di Montalcino
Luce Still Soars
Montalcino may be one of the most beautiful places in Tuscany. The town itself sits bathed in sunlight atop a large hill, with sweeping vineyards and forests descending from it in flowing circles like the… Continue reading
A MAN POSSESSED
John Terlato is more than a man on a mission. He’s a man possessed. Terlato, the co-owner of Chicago-based Terlato Wines, has spent the last 15 years trying to elevate the family’s crown jewel in… Continue reading
Is Natural Wine Going Off the Deep End?
A WineSpeed reader recently sent me this article: Shitting Good. That’s What I Like About Natural Wine. In addition to the crude title (unless maybe the wine had a weird manifestation of Brettanomyces?), the piece… Continue reading
THE HISTORY OF SAUVIGNON BLANC
Plus, the Musqué Muddle
Sauvignon blanc is one of the few grape varieties that makes delicious wines all over the world. (Most varieties are confined to just a small handful of places). But where did it come from? Who… Continue reading
TEN OF THE GREATEST NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNONS
Plus, the Seven Attributes All Great Cabernets Share
I’ve recently tasted a slew of mind-blowing Napa Valley cabernets—wines that stop you in your tracks; wines that make you wonder how wine can taste and feel that damn good. And of course, these wines… Continue reading
Super Sauvignons: A Whole New Class of Sauvignon Blanc
For the last 20 years, California sauvignon blanc has been mostly stuck in a rut. No matter how many sauvignon lovers prayed for a leap in quality, none came. Until now. The emergence of “Super… Continue reading
