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
Ridge has been considered one of California’s “First Growths” for more than half a century. Yet the story of Ridge’s rise to prominence is as improbable as it is fascinating. The details are compelling: How… Continue reading
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
I wrote the following poem on the evening of September 21, 2022 after attending a “Conversation” at Ashes & Diamonds winery in the Napa Valley. The presentation—by five winemakers—centered around the topic of sustainability. But,… Continue reading
The first time I went to the Champagne region, a winemaker took me aside and showed me a glass of Perrier water. These, he said, were not “good” bubbles—not for Champagne wine anyway. The almost… Continue reading
One of the more exciting things that we at Karen MacNeil & Company did this past summer was a double-blind tasting of every California Cabernet Franc we could get our hands on. There are more… Continue reading
One of the first life-changing wines I drank in my 20s was a Guigal Côte-Rôtie “Brune et Blonde.” I was in a New York steakhouse and the sommelier I was with just stood there awaiting… Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
