Who's Peter Max? And why is his name on a South African Pinot Noir that enthralls anyone who tastes it?

It's actually two guys: Peter and Max are the names of the growers whose fruit went into the first vintage of this wine, a multi-vineyard blend that's meant to encapsulate everything good about South Africa's misty, cold Walker Bay region and its coastal neighbors. There's also Peter as in winemaker Peter-Allen Finlayson, who founded Crystallum in partnership with his brother Andrew.

When Rebecca Gibb, MW, tasted Joguet’s single vineyard 2019 Chinons she couldn’t help but wax poetic. They’re the kind of wines that do that to even the most technically adept tasters. They’re also wines that get high points and that can age for decades.

And yet, Chinon (generally) and Joguet (specifically) remain a bit of an insider’s wine. Charles Joguet may be one of the appellation’s benchmark producers, and an early proponent of both single vineyard Chinon as well as organic farming.

Is your New Year's resolution to taste more diverse wines, become a more knowledgeable wine drinker, or learn to select wine with more confidence? We can help with all of that! 

Classes at Flatiron Wine School are taught by our very own Julia Burke Freytsis, Annie Edgerton, and Ren Peir. All of us are passionate wine educators, with diverse wine industry experience and professional certifications to back it up, and we choose these topics based on your requests and our favorite things. 

Artemis Karamolegos, born and raised on the island, is carrying on his family’s legacy at his eponymous winery. The focus is, without a doubt, Assyrtiko in all its glory and potential. Artemis owns some vineyards — most of which are over a hundred years old — and maintains good relationships with smaller growers.

Now, if you're new to these newsletters, you might not know what all the fuss is about. The TL;DR is that the Picq family is among Chablis' great producers -- but one that has no grand cru vineyards, no blockbuster collectibles, and that therefore has stayed outside the field of vision of international collectors. 

Anthony Lynch (son of legendary importer Kermit Lynch) came to New York last week and brought a few special bottles from their Berkeley cellar to lunch, including 2007 Vacqueyras Le Sang des Cailloux and Thierry Allemand’s 2005 Cornas Reynard. But the surprise winner with the food was a Corsican red, the 2020 Antoine Arena Patrimonio Rouge, "Morta Maio.”

Just in the nick of time, the New York Times' Eric Asimov has released a brand-new article listing his ideal picks for your Thanksgiving feast. Rarely do we devote an entire day to eating, drinking, and general merriment, so your wine pairings really have to hit the spot!

Perhaps the only thing we love more than Burgundy Pinot Noir is Burgundy Pinot Noir blended with Gamay, a style of wine known as Passetoutgrains. The best examples combine the elegance and structure of Pinot Noir with the playful, juicy character of Gamay — truly the best of both worlds.

The tiny, high-altitude village of Radda has become a darling of Chianti drinkers. Their passion feels a little like the excitement Burgundy-lovers often express for Chambolle Musigny: “The wines are so aromatic!” “They’re minerally and terroir-focussed, but most of all, utterly delicious!”

With prices for great white Burgundy showing no signs of coming back to earth, what's a lover of tense, limestone-infused, elegantly reductive white wines to do? The Jura was the next logical stop, but the secret’s out, and many of the best wines are now simply impossible to find. And so, the hunt for minerality, electricity, and transparency leads us to new frontiers: the north-facing limestone slopes of the northern Rheinhessen, and to one of Germany’s most exciting young growers, Carsten Saalwächter.

López de Heredia is the greatest name in Rioja, known for its traditional practices, ancient cellars and the outstanding wines it produces. In a region like Rioja, long aging is understood to be part of the process — Crianzas, Reservas and Gran Reservas are all defined by the amount of time the wine spends aging first in barrel and then in bottle. López de Heredia takes this to the extreme, dismissing the legal requirements and adopting whatever processes will make for the highest quality wine.