Several years ago when I was on assignment in Bordeaux, one of the winemakers I interviewed was Esme Johnstone, a former major British wine merchant who had taken up residence as director of Château de Sours near Saint-Quentin-de-Baron. His biggest opportunity, Johnstone told me, was to make loads of rosé
“Great wine? To me it does not exist. In fact, what do you mean by this word, ‘great?' Famous, expensive, noble…? To me, even a humble Vernatsch with a daily meal can be ‘great’ if it is representative of its region. That’s why I’m not interested in tasting a ‘great
Peter Mondavi of Charles Krug Winery, a luminary of Napa Valley Wine, passed away recently. Palate Press remembers his legacy by revisiting this interview with columnist Michelle Locke from 2015, back when he was only 100. Peter Mondavi. Sr. is holding a cork from a 1966 bottle of Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon,
Canadian whisky has always had respectable sales in the U.S. It just hasn’t always gotten a lot of respect. That’s changed. Take the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whisky that was named World Whisky of the Year by expert Jim Murray in his 2016 Whisky Bible. Other brands of note
Don’t think that presidential politics is the only game of “who do you love?” now being played out. Just as pollsters have been surveying voter preferences in places as diverse as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, researchers hired by the Wine Market Council (WMC) have been surveying adult Americans
One of the world's greatest wines is anathema to things many enophiles stand for: * It doesn't express the terroir of a vineyard * It's not the expression of a vintage * It's not made from organic or biodynamic grapes The wine is Champagne. Grower Champagnes are increasingly popular in the U.S.,
Back in the heady days of October 2015, I won a prize for wine writing, announced at the DWCC conference in Bulgaria. The competition's main sponsor was the campaigning organization Wine In Moderation, whose director Stylianos Filopolous had the slightly hapless task of speaking to an audience more interested in
The soil and the climate have always been here. But it took a few centuries to find the right grapes to plant, to develop the needed modern techniques in the vineyards and wineries, and to see winegrowers emerge with the knowledge, stamina, resources and vision to create iconic, high-quality wines