Sometimes a Great Notion—The Wines of Chappellet
I think about wine tastings the way I think about men. Some are pleasant. Some take work. Some you’ll never forget. Earlier this year, a 50th Anniversary tasting of the wines of Chappellet—going back to the legendary 1969– was more than an experience I’ll never...
Pinot Hits New Heights
I once asked Luke Smith, owner/winemaker of Howling Bluff wineryThe following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
Of Severity and Beauty–Littorai Pinot Noir
It’s hard to see biodynamics. A vintner says his vineyards are biodynamic. But a casual look at the vineyards usually reveals little or nothing. You can’t easily see philosophy. You can’t see what isn’t done. But a visit to Littorai recently was, to continue the...
The Best Simple White?
“We think grillo (GREE-yo) will be the next pinot grigio.”The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
A DIAMOND NO LONGER IN THE ROUGH
In 1968, when Boots and Al Brounstein founded their winery Diamond Creek on Napa Valley’s Diamond Mountain, the going price for a bottle of great Napa Cabernet was $5. (Just about the only wine that cost more at the time was Heitz “Martha’s Vineyard” Cabernet...22.5
Amount (in thousands of US$) paid at auction for a single bottle of 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, the red wine that came in first in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting fifty years ago. The bottle, sold by Christie’s auction house, was The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
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