Santorini is a Grecian paradise, a speck of isolated land in the Aegean sea with sun-drenched shores, ancient ruins and a small, but flourishing wine industry. The indigenous Assyrtiko grape is the island's crown jewel, and few producers know it as well as Koutsoyannopoulos.
While it’s tempting to describe wines of this caliber as magical, in actuality, they are an earthly synergy of hard work, expert farming and exceptional terroir. All these elements are found in spades at the estate of Alphonse Mellot.
Ruchè is a grape with a mysterious past. It's grown in Piedmont without Nebbiolo’s fanfare, or even the popularity of Dolcetto or Barbera. The Italians believe its origin to be on the hillsides of Piedmont, but a French faction claim it as their own, believing Burgundy to be its ancestral home.
At its best, drinking a glass of Rioja feels like sitting next to a fire, cozy and content. But a single village wine from Remelluri is proof that Rioja can be just as thought-provoking and terroir-driven as any great wine.
The most difficult part of tasting through Mas Coutelou’s gorgeous 2019s was deciding which were the absolute best cuvées. They were all delicious benchmarks of what every natural winemaker should be trying to emulate: soulful, terroir transparent and clean.
It’s fair to say the California wine industry made its bones producing Cabernets, Pinots and Chardonnays to rival those of France. However, the story of California wine runs far deeper than the acclaim achieved through these three varieties.
Only in a place like the Wachau could the wines of the region's finest producer be purchased freely, for less than huge sums of money. And Franz Hirtzberger, the subject of today's story, is without a doubt one of the top winemakers in all Austria.
Roussillon’s fortified wines, once the stuff of kings, are still prized here. But internationally, their star has waned, and so has the region’s reputation as a whole. But it is precisely this state of affairs that has it positioned to be the next “it” region of France.
Wine School: Grenache/Garnacha -- Asimov's latest New York Times piece is on three of our favorite Grenache/Garnacha wines... and we've got them for you!
