Previous issue: March 31, 2008

 

Cover Story

Great California Values California makes the lion's share of all wine consumed in the United States, yet values can be hard to find. Here's how to beat high prices and find the best that the Golden State's nearly 2,700 wineries have to offer.

• WineSpectator.com  Use our Value Wines Finder to locate highly rated, affordably priced wines from other regions around the world.

39 Names You Can Trust   Profiles of producers making outstanding wines at reasonable prices

189 California Values at a Glance   

Features

Tasting Reports

Extreme Riesling German winegrowers were surprised by an early, short 2006 vintage, but many of the wines turn out to be charming

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  Confused by German wine labels? Watch our Label Lingo video for an explanation of the terminology and classifications.

• WineSpectator.com:  An alphabetical chart of all wines tasted for this report.

A Pair of Aces in South Africa   Syrah and Chenin Blanc lead a wine industry that has more bottlings and better overall quality each year

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  Learn more about South Africa's distinctive wines as James Molesworth tastes a pair and matches them with South African cuisine at Xai Xai restaurant in New York.

• WineSpectator.com:  An alphabetical chart of all wines tasted for this report.

Travel

The Maine Event   The charming coastal town of Portland offers excellent accommodations, fine seafood and imaginative wine lists

• WineSpectator.com  Planning a trip? Our Restaurant Search lists nearly 4,000 restaurants with award-winning wine lists. And our Hotel Search contains reviews and photos of great places to stay in wine-and-food destinations.

People

Climbing the Pyramid   Château Pontet-Canet's Alfred Tesseron strives to make his fifth-growth Bordeaux estate equal in quality to its first-growth neighbors

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  Take a spirited tour of Château Pontet-Canet with Alfred Tesseron, who has revolutionized quality at this fifth-growth Pauillac estate.

Trusting Altesino   New owner Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini aims to maintain the winery's style and quality while gently improving on it

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  What does it take to be a top producer of Brunello di Montalcino? Altesino owner Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini shares the answer in this interview.

Paving the Way   Adam and Dianna Lee, the couple behind Siduri, find a way to balance making stellar California Pinot with raising a family

Departments

This Issue

This Issue Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront

  

Diageo purchases Rosenblum; Costco loses fight to reform wine distribution; wine waste may protect teeth; Foley buys a stake in Walla Walla's Three Rivers Winery; Jamie Davies of Schramsberg Winery Dies at 73; billionaire collector's "Jefferson Bottle" lawsuit takes a hit; Pétrus vertical stolen from restaurant; GrapeVine

• WineSpectator.com  Keep up with breaking news as well as the people, places and happenings that wine lovers are talking about.

Tastes

  

Deep-frying; single-origin honeys; tequila; mail-order Macarons; Tain France Hot Spot: Le Mangevins

• WineSpectator.com  Learn more about other frying techniques, including sautéing, pan-frying and stir-frying. Find that article and many more from our "How to Cook" issue in our magazine archives.

Columns

James Laube   Golden oldies

• In recent blog posts, James Laube explains why the sale of Rosenblum is crucial for Zin lovers, samples old California Cabernets and finds nostalgia has its limits, finds quality wines in the heat of Hawaii and shares the news of Kris Curran's departure from Sea Smoke.

Matt Kramer   Wine democratization

James Suckling   Le Pin’s virtues

Collecting

  

Auction index enjoys biggest increase ever in second half of 2007; Naples Wine Festival takes in $14 million

• WineSpectator.com:  Follow the latest auction trends. Our Auction Price Database tracks performance for more than 15,600 cellar-worthy wines, while our Auction Highlights show the results from the latest major sales.
• WineSpectator.com:  NEW! Organize your purchases with our upgraded Personal Wine List. Make a shopping list. Track the contents of your cellar. Create sets of shelf tags. The Personal Wine List allows you to create as many separate lists as you need and add wines from our searchable Wine Ratings database, as well as unrated wines. The companion My Cellar tool keeps you up-to-date both on the value of the individual wines in your collection and on your cellar's total worth.

Wine Talk

Wine Talk   Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard

The Buying Guide

View a list of all tasting notes from this issue. Or for more than 199,000 tasting notes, use WineSpectator.com's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.

NEW CELLAR MANAGEMENT TOOLS:  Track the value of your cellar. Make a shopping list of highly rated wines. Organize your collection in a personal database. Our upgraded Personal Wine List allows you to create as many separate lists as you need and add wines from our searchable Wine Ratings database (and unrated wines as well). And a new companion tool called My Cellar keeps you up to date on the value of your individual wines and your cellar's total worth. PRINT YOUR OWN SHELF TALKERS:  Now you can label your wines clearly with Wine Spectator scores and tasting notes. Create shelf tags for your bottles using either our new Personal Wine List or our Wine Ratings Search database. 2007 BORDEAUX:  Find out which wines are worth buying. European bureau chief James Suckling reports from Bordeaux on his barrel tastings of this challenging vintage. SANTA BARBARA:  Senior editor James Laube previews the region's Pinot Noirs, Syrahs and other wines being sold as futures.

VIDEOS:  We now have hundreds of videos on our site, including new ones that feature: Bordeaux:  Château Pontet-Canet's wines stand out vintage after vintage. Take a tour of this fifth-growth Pauillac estate with Alfred Tesseron, who has revolutionized its quality. South Africa:  Learn more about this country's distinctive wines with senior editor James Molesworth as he tastes and matches them with South African cuisine at Xai Xai restaurant in New York. Tuscany:  What does it take to be a top Brunello producer Altesino owner Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini tells you all about it. SOMMELIER STARS:  Meet the wine directors at the world's most wine-friendly restaurants, from the French Laundry to Cru and beyond. Find out how their cellars earned Wine Spectator awards, how they fell in love with wine, and what they like to stash in their personal cellars. KOSHER WINE:  Get our picks on the best bottles to serve with your Passover meal. SPRING ENTERTAINING:  As the weather warms up, enjoy our seasonal recipes and wine picks.