Previous issue: April 30, 2008

 

Cover Story

Great Grapes: Chardonnay An in-depth exploration of this exceptional white grape and how it earned a special place in the hearts of Americans

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  Bruce Sanderson demonstrates the diversity—and adaptability—of America's most popular varietal as he tastes top Chardonnays from California, Australia and Burgundy.

Burgundy   The homeland and quality epicenter

Chablis   A region imparting unique expression

Champagne   Delivering effervescence while transmitting terroir

California   The Golden State’s dominant grape variety

Australia   A promising new home

Other Notable Chardonnays

Features

Tasting Reports

Chile Returns to Its Roots Solid values lead the way as the country experiences great success with the 2005 and 2006 vintages

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  James Molesworth is fired up after exploring Chile's up-and-coming regions and varietals.

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

New Zealand's Two-Step   Sauvignon Blanc continues to provide quality and value, while Pinot Noir adds to the excitement

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

Menu

Well-Matched Chardonnay   Cru restaurant in New York creates a trio of sumptuous dishes to pair with three different styles of Chardonnay

• WineSpectator.com Bonus Videos:  Join us at Manhattan's Cru restaurant as chef Shea Gallante and wine director Robert Bohr work together to create a sublime pairing between white Burgundy and a tasty fillet of turbot in our menu.

Travel

Niagara Rises   Ontario's booming wine region on the Niagara Peninsula features great restaurants and welcoming wineries

• WineSpectator.com:  Traveling to wine country? Our Hotel Search contains reviews and photos of great places to stay in wine-and-food destinations. And our Winery Search helps you plan tasting visits with interactive maps and details on hours, tours and tasting fees.

Departments

This Issue

This Issue Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront

  

Hong Kong is set to become a wine capital; century-old vines are transplanted; drinking wine may prevent certain diseases; american wine exports reach $951 Million; Al Gore Praises wine industry's green efforts; Napa Cabernet producer Gemstone sold; GrapeVine

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

In-Depth

In Depth   Scarecrow, Napa Valley’s newest cult Cab

Tastes

  

Tuna's next wave; induction cooktops; direct shipment coffee; long overdue: Asian food and wine matching; New Orleans Hot Spot: MiLa

• WineSpectator.com:  Get a recipe for tuna tiradito, a seviche-like dish. Plus, learn more about different types of fish, and how to pair them with wine, in our online Food Encyclopedia.

Columns

James Laube   Is it the winemaker or the vineyard?

• In recent blog posts, James Laube asks readers what they consider to be fair restaurant wine pricing, marvels at $37,300-a-ton Napa Cabernet, and visits two places that are making the city of Napa a little more hip.

Matt Kramer   If you build it, they will come

Bruce Sanderson   Stellar 2005 DRCs

Collecting

  

Against-the-odds collector Tim O'Rourke; spotlight on 2003 Bordeaux

• WineSpectator.com:  New cellar management tools: Track the value of your cellar. Make a shopping list of highly rated wines. Organize the bottles in your collection in a personal database. Create sets of shelf tags. Now you can do all these tasks online in one convenient location. Our improved 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 new My Cellar companion tool keeps you up-to-date on the value of your individual wines and on your cellar's total worth.

Wine Talk

Wine Talk   NASCAR truck racer Mike Skinner

The Buying Guide

View a list of all tasting notes from this issue. Or for more than 205,000 tasting notes, use WineSpectator.com's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.

2007 BORDEAUX:  Find out which wines are worth buying en primeur, as senior editor 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. 2006 BURGUNDY:  To guide your pre-arrival buys, senior editor Bruce Sanderson provides his vintage analysis, cellar notes and preliminary scores for soon-to-be-bottled wines. EDITORS' BLOGS:  Senior editor James Molesworth reports from Chile and Argentina as he tours some of South America's best and most promising wine regions. NEW CELLAR MANAGEMENT TOOLS:  Track the value of your cellar. Make a shopping list of highly rated wines. Organize the bottles in your collection in a personal database. Print shelf tags. Now you can do all these tasks on one convenient site. 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 our new My Cellar companion tool keeps you up to date on the value of your individual wines and your cellar's total worth.

VIDEOS:  We now have hundreds of videos on our Web site: Chardonnay:   Bruce Sanderson demonstrates this popular white's diversity as he tastes top wines from California and Burgundy. Chile:  James Molesworth shares his great finds after exploring this country's wine regions. Wine-and-food pairing:  Join us at Manhattan's Cru restaurant as chef Shea Gallante and wine director Robert Bohr demonstrate how white Burgundy and a spiced turbot fillet can make a great match. KOSHER WINE:  See our picks for the best bottles to serve with your Passover meal. UNFILTERED:  Who says wine always has to be serious? Read amusing news items and get the scoop on celebrities and their wine escapades in our irreverent weekly column.