Less than fifty miles west of Florence, the handsome walled city of Lucca is not exactly unknown, but its wines certainly are. Given the attention Tuscany receives in the entertainment industry and from wine-loving tourists alike, it might come as a surprise that there are worthwhile wines and even entire
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
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
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
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
When you put a lot of great vineyards making expensive wines in a tiny hilltop region, some conflict will inevitably result — especially when the wine is a long-aged red wine that has been chronicled for over 450 years. These well-known and well-documented wines are called Brunello di Montalcino. Montalcino the name
The name comes from the tajona rock used to grind the blue agave cactuses to make this premium tequila – and discs of dark grey stone (piedra) are affixed to both the front of the luxurious display box and the top of the elegant bottle within. The term “extra añejo”
An entire country can’t be made to pay for the mistakes of, well, a lot of the rest of the country, can it? In the case of the Australian wine market, it would seem the answer is, at least for the American consumer, a resounding yes. But if anybody can