Dear Subscriber,
Some of you may have read my blog on Bibiana González, the winemaker of Cattleya, who I think has a very special gift when it comes to making white wines. Consider her Chardonnay (98 points in my book) from the cold Sonoma Coast. It’s our Wine to Know this week and it has off-the-charts refinement. At about $12 a glass, it’s also a wine that I think will impress you. On the easy-pocketbook side of things, our Steal is a juicy, you-can’t-go-wrong simple delicious red from Mendocino. And please don’t miss our Wine People Close Up video with the young, very handsome Josh Scott from New Zealand and whose incredibly priced Alan Scott wines are terrific. Plus, of course, amazing Numbers, a summer Fascinating Fact and a practically helpful Ask Karen.
—Ciao from Napa, Karen
Dr. Loosen makes fantastically pure and crystalline bone-dry Rieslings that are so vibrant they remind me of a soprano hitting a high note. This wine’s throttling freshness makes it very exciting to drink. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
95 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
Say you took rich baked apples and pears and then electrified them with energy. That’s this wine. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
94 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
Donnafugata (the word means “woman on the run”) makes some of Sicily’s most fascinating wines and this white, made from vineyards on the active volcano Mt Etna, is certainly that. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
93 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
Whenever I’ve drunk this Chablis, the picture that has always come to mind is a dramatic, elegant frame and within that, a painting of soft, pillowy clouds. The tension of frame and picture. It’s like that, this wine: The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
96 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
- Premiere Napa Valley/PAULA KORNELL “Something Old, Something New” Blanc de Noirs Brut 2018 (Carneros, CA) $ The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
A wine that tastes this good shouldn’t cost this little. Named after a wandering stray dog that followed the owners over the course of a 6-day, 100-mile backpacking hike along the South African coast, Lubanzi (the wine) is absolutely delicious.The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
94 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
I meant it when, earlier this fall, I said that this wine (100 points) will blow your mind.The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
100 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
A wine that tastes this good shouldn’t cost this little. Named after a wandering stray dog that followed the owners over the course of a 6-day, 100-mile backpacking hike along the South African coast, Lubanzi (the wine) is absolutely delicious.The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
94 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
A. Prosecco
B. Chianti
C. Barolo
D. Lambrusco
A. Portland, Maine
B. New Orleans, Louisiana
C. Chicago, Illinois
D. Detroit, Michigan
“No Safe Amount of Alcohol”? Not So Fast.
For those of us who love wine, recent health headlines feel like a cultural disconnect, not to mention a worrisome attack. Some organizations maintain there is no safe amount of alcohol; at the same time, some studies point to potential health benefits. To help untangle this confusing narrative, Madeline Puckette, the brilliant mind behind Wine Folly, is taking a closer look at the actual data. Puckette’s video is a must-watch because the reality of wine and health is infinitely more nuanced than a scary headline can capture. Take a look.
25
Percentage higher in price tomatoes are today than a year ago, according to The Economist. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
A wine that tastes this good shouldn’t cost this little. Named after a wandering stray dog that followed the owners over the course of a 6-day, 100-mile backpacking hike along the South African coast, Lubanzi (the wine) is absolutely delicious.The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
94 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
Dear Carly: Wine, in general, is amazing in the number of aromas and flavors it can possess, and two of the more fascinating ones in the kaleidoscope are chocolate and cocoa. Both of these characters generally come from oak barrels, the toasting of which produces a range of flavors that fall into the camp of chocolate/coffee/vanilla/spice. Tannin, too, can play a role since the flavor of tannin is “good bitterness”—like dark chocolate. For these reasons, chocolate and cocoa flavors show up in red wines far more than in whites.
A Winery Tells Its Story—The Press Release of the Future
Dear Journalists and Influencers:
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Why So Much Italian Wine?
In the United States, most of the wine that’s imported is Italian. In 2025 some 93.2 million gallons of Italian wine were imported into this country. In fact, Italian wine has led US imports for decades, hitting a peak in 2021 with 43% of all US table wine imports. Is it because Italian wine is just so good? I love lots of Italian wine, but I’m sure “goodness” has nothing to do with it. What does? The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
The Ascendency of White
For the first time in the US, sales of white wine have overtaken red. The “switch” happened in 2024. Today, 49% of wine sales are white wine; 45% are red. So what’s driving the decline in red wine? The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
Five Top Steals
In Honor of (or maybe because of) upcoming Tax Day, here are five of our favorite wines under $25 so far this year. Click on each wine to read my review of it.
CAVAS HILL “Panot Gaudi” Reserva Brut non-vintage Cava (Catalonia, Spain) $12
AIA VECCHIA Vermentino 2024 (Bolgheri, Tuscany, IT) $17
ELEMENTAL Pinot Noir 2022 (California) $10
SPRING SEED WINE CO “Scarlet Runner” Shiraz 2022 (McLaren Vale, South Australia, AUS) $25
VALLADO Vinho Tinto 2023(Douro, PT) $15