WELCOME TO WINESPEED
Mountain Cabernets have a real cachet in Napa Valley—and rightfully so. They can be wines of majestic structure. The challenge is taking all that mountain tannin and making a wine that’s supple and rich. My Blog this week is on a winemaker who does exactly that. Our Wine to Know is a stunning Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. As appellations go, the Sonoma Coast just keeps hitting home-runs. The wines are some of the best in all of California. One of our Numbers this week is impressive for all the wrong reasons. Thirty? Frightening. And finally, to me, fall always seems like the best wine-drinking season of all. Why not do a little reading while you’re tasting? I’ll sign and personalize a copy of The Wine Bible for you or a friend. It’s just a click away.
—Warmest thoughts, Karen
A. Muscadet
B. Menetou-Salon
C. Savennières
D. Vouvray
Deeply earthy and bold, yet full of energy, lightness, and freshness, Landmark’s “Grand Detour” Pinot Noir is like someone singing bass and soprano at the same time. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
95 points Karen MacNeil / WineSpeed
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Wine People Close Up – Irakli Gilauri
Twice in my career, a man from Georgia (the country) has walked into my office and changed the way I think about the world of wine.
The first time, two decades ago, the man was an Eastern Orthodox monk from an 11th century monastery. The second time, a few weeks ago, the man was Irakli Gilauri, who is changing the future of wine from the most ancient of terroirs where wine was born—Georgia.
Renowned Author & Dynamic Speaker
With a reputation for captivating audiences and inspiring wine lovers around the world, Karen is available for keynote speeches, seminars, and custom events. Reach out to book Karen for your next event.
Fifty Pounds and a Gazillion Seeds
Lodi, the self-proclaimed “Zinfandel Capital of the World” (it produces over 40% of California’s zin), is also home to over 130 different grape varieties, more than any other California region. These include: The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
Patrick, in my 40 years in the wine industry, I’ve sent a bottle back maybe four times. But I’ve sent wine glasses back probably 200 times. In many restaurants, wine glasses go through the dishwasher with plates that can have everything on them from scraps of salmon to crusted pork fat. Those aromas can get trapped in the glass, because of the way wineglasses are shaped and the inside of a wine glass is microscopically pitted. So with a wine that seems funky, the glass is often the culprit. In that case, I just ask the server for a fresh glass, explaining that the wine seems a little odd, but I think it might be the glass not the wine.
By the Numbers
1811
Vintage of a single bottle of German Riesling from the vineyard of Ungeheuer (“monster” in German) in the village of Forst in the Pfalz region that recently sold at auction forThe following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
30
Number of vertical feet that parts of the San Joaquin Valley within California’s Central Valley have fallen as a result of recent megadroughts. The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
35.5
Approximate amount (in billions of US$) that US importers paid last year in tariff taxes for goods (including wine, cars, and luxury items) from the European Union, according to Market Watch. This marks a massive increase from the roughly $8 billion paid in 2024 The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.
Each week, my team and I will bring you a fascinating and fun dose of wine intel. You’ll find my top wine recommendations (for every one wine we recommend to you, we taste 50 to 100 wines), plus great wine and food quizzes, my takes on happenings in the wine world, and my (hopefully thought-provoking and helpful) blogs. Plus, as always, lots more!
~ Karen MacNeil