When I saw Stefano Campatelli again in Houston in late January, I commented to him once more that “Baby Brunello” is a terrible moniker for Rosso di Montalcino, a diminutive that immediately describes it as no more than second-best. He nodded, and replied diplomatically that there was not much that
Now that Independence Day is behind us, the summer is in full swing. Barbecues, hikes, and lazy days at the pool abound. And most of us are itching to leave town -- eager to spend some time away from work, escaping from it all. Wine enthusiasts are fortunate in that
Today, most wine is fermented in stainless-steel tanks. Very clean, very modern, very industrial. Very congruent with the food processing industry and it’s (sometimes reassuring, sometimes disturbing) obsession with sleek, sanitizable surfaces. Stainless steel only debuted in winemaking circa the 1950’s, but it’s now ubiquitous. So, of course, there are
Jean-Marie Guffens Went From Media Darling to Police Handcuffs (read part 1), and He’s Never Been Happier. Here’s Why Part II: The Big Knife If Jean-Marie Guffens's wines are even better today than they were in the 1990s, why is he struggling? Guffens doesn’t have a simple answer, but he wants
Jean-Marie Guffens Went From Media Darling to Police Handcuffs, and He’s Never Been Happier. Here’s Why Part I: France vs. Guffens On a brisk, sun-splashed day in Provence, the man who was once the white-hottest winemaker in the world sits at a long table studded with nearly 40 open bottles.
It's a warm August day in the hills of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, a stretch of land that forms one of the most productive non-irrigated farming areas in all of the United States. In the tank room of Jan Waltz's winery, the better part of a dozen winemakers from across the
Oak-ageing for wine can now be calibrated scientifically with a new measurement of “tannic potential” of oak barrels. In order to demonstrate how different barrels can alter the taste, the researcher Jean Charles Vicard, owner of the barrel-making brand Esprit de Dryades, enlisted a Michelin-starred chef to use tiny amounts
For those of us who didn’t get over to Bordeaux this April for en primeur, the much anticipated annual futures market, some winery folks brought their new wines to us. This is the week that favored customers, media, negociants, and retail buyers taste still-in-the-barrel wines. These immature wines, always sampled