Blog Index

James Laube

Looking Ahead To Santa Barbara Wine Futures

Posted: 05:08 PM ET, 03/20/08

Next week I'll blind-taste wines from Santa Barbara County that will be sold as futures via Wine Cask, the Santa Barbara retailer. This is an annual affair that’s well-organized, with scores of wines for sale, including some exotic and rare cuvées. Read more

James Molesworth

Double Barrel Consultants

Posted: 08:14 AM ET, 03/20/08

Chile’s wine industry dates back over a century, but for all intents and purposes, its modern history dates back to just the early 1990s, as wineries emerged from a generation of political and economic strife. Nonetheless, that makes Veramonte, founded in 1990, one of the old guard. Read more

James Molesworth

Vines with an Ocean View

Posted: 03:56 PM ET, 03/19/08

The move to cooler climates and better vine materials has been the major force for the upsurge in quality among Chilean wines in recent years, its white wines in particular. With that in mind, I worked up the coastline today, starting in the new area called Leyda. Read more

James Laube

California's Future Still Looks European

Posted: 02:28 PM ET, 03/19/08

Piero Antinori stopped by my office in Napa on Monday for a brief visit. He’s been in Napa Valley more of late. He’s been here to keep a closer eye on his Atlas Peak winery, Antica Napa Valley, which produces Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah, along with some Sangiovese, which was once the dream wine that’s been scaled back. Read more

James Suckling

Back to School in Baja

Posted: 01:18 PM ET, 03/19/08

I spent an afternoon with Hugo d’Acosta, the wine guru of Baja California, Mexico, tasting through various barrels of 2007 in one of his wineries, La Escuelaita – "the little school" in Spanish. The small winery is actually a school where about 50 wine-keen friends make their wines every year under the direction of Hugo. Read more

Harvey Steiman

On the Pizza Trail: Caioti

Posted: 12:06 PM ET, 03/19/08

Ed LaDou changed the way we think about pizza. He's best known for inventing California pizza, also known as "designer pizza," which operates under the premise that anything you might put on a plate could go onto a pizza. He was Wolfgang Puck's first pizza chef at Spago when it opened in 1982, and he consulted with California Pizza Kitchen when that chain was getting started in the 1980s. Read more

James Molesworth

Friendly Rivals in Apalta, and the Terroir Hunter

Posted: 04:31 PM ET, 03/18/08

Viña Montes and Casa Lapostolle are neighbors in the prime Apalta sub-valley, located in the larger Colchagua Valley. The two wineries are among the leaders of Chile’s wine industry and they’re friendly rivals.

Both put the finishing touches on their new showpiece winery facilities just in time for the 2005 vintage, which turned out to produce the best wines yet at each estate. Read more

James Laube

Flashy 2006 Zinfandels from Carlisle

Posted: 04:23 PM ET, 03/18/08

It’s always exciting when a great winemaker outdoes himself, which is exactly what Mike Officer has done with his 2006 Carlisle Zinfandels.

These wines, which Tim Fish and I tasted in one of our regular weekly blind tastings, are sensational, earning a sprint don’t run endorsement. Read more

Richard Betts

Flip It Over!

Posted: 01:37 PM ET, 03/18/08

When it comes to selecting a wine you don’t know much about, I offer this advice, especially when it comes to imported wines: start with the back-side.

Frequently, someone who lives in a different part of the country than I do asks me for a wine recommendation. Read more

Bruce Sanderson

Fine Bubbles, Fantasy Price

Posted: 03:45 PM ET, 03/17/08

Champagne Krug is about to release the most expensive Champagne ever. Its Brut Blanc de Noirs Clos d’Ambonnay 1995 has a suggested retail price of $3,000 to $3,500.

In January, I made my regular visit to Burgundy. On my way back to Paris, I stopped in Champagne to visit Olivier Krug, Henri’s son and now the director of the house, and to learn more about the project. Read more

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