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Livermore Ascending: Three producers to watch

Mary Orlin
Feature Stories
3 min read
I've covered the Livermore Valley AVA, 30 miles east of San Francisco, for the past 14 years and have never been more impressed with the wines and the people making them.  With more than 50 wineries and wines taking top honors at major wine competitions, the Livermore wine country is

Maryland: not just for crabs anymore

W. Blake Gray
Feature Stories
6 min read
I grew up in Maryland enjoying the bounty of the region, particularly crabs, oysters, and when I was little, good pitching and defense. I didn't become a wine drinker until I moved away. When I visit, crabs are always on the agenda, but I never bothered to even taste a Maryland

A whole bunch of hot air

Simon J Woolf
Feature Stories
3 min read
Winemakers love to talk about “terroir expression” - a slippery phrase, but for me it readily translates into variety, regionality and interest. Small artisan producers often adopt and justify traditional, low intervention techniques to achieve that expression. For example: Wild yeasts produce more complex ferments Unfiltered wines are more vibrant

Exploring Piedmont Part 2: Monferrato

Christina Pickard
Feature Stories
7 min read
In this series, we take a look at three of Piedmont’s most fascinating and diverse wine regions by exploring what this historic and traditional corner of the wine world looks like today, and highlighting some of the off-the-beaten-track producers quietly shaping the region’s future.  In this, the second part of

Wine Country Cocktails

Michelle Locke
Feature Stories
3 min read
 Meet FOAM, the Napa Valley’s top secret, well kinda secret, cocktail society After a hard day working in the cellar, or the vineyard, or the office filling out paperwork, winemaker Judd Finkelstein likes to relax with an adult beverage … and it’s probably not the one you’re expecting. Sure, Finkelstein

Judgment of Napa: Five Cabernets

Simon J Woolf
Feature Stories
3 min read
A Brit writing on Napa Cabernets, for an American wine magazine – isn't that a bit bloody minded? A tad “coals to Newcastle”, if you will? Stay with me, it might get interesting. California's Napa Valley has nothing left to prove – the 1976 and 2006 Judgments of Paris are