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Out in the Fields Drinking Old Vine Zinfandel

Ben Carter
Feature Stories
4 min read
The Lodi Native Project highlights non-interventionist winemaking and individual style. When I headed off to Lodi for a press visit, I got some ribbing from other wine writers.  All good natured, but if you’re already irritated by the stereotypical California style of wine, Lodi might seem to be the worst

Wine at the Rodeo means Big Competition

Mike Riccetti
Feature Stories
4 min read
That one of the world’s biggest wine competitions is associated with a rodeo might come as a surprise.   The images of an oenophile studiously judging wine and one of a cowboy flailing atop a frantically bucking bronco across a dirt-laden corral are a bit discordant, but the fact that the

The Ghost Grape: Renaming “Tocai”

Elisabetta Tosi
Feature Stories
5 min read
Surrounded by a sea of vineyards with a few rural houses sprinkled here and there, a tall white tower rises up in the countryside close to the small village of San Martino della Battaglia. The setting is Northern Italy, near Venice. Here on the 24th of June 1859, a bloody

Rías Baixas: Spain’s Little Green Giant

Roger Morris
Feature Stories
4 min read
Using a patchwork system of thousands of growers, Rias Baixas makes certain you are never without a glass of Albariño. It is the third evening of my recent tour of Rías Baixas, and there is again a gentle drizzle as we walk the narrow, ancient streets of Pontevedra en route to

The viniferous joys of Lucca

Mike Riccetti
Feature Stories
4 min read
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

Livermore Ascending: Three producers to watch

Mary Orlin
Feature Stories
3 min read
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

Maryland: not just for crabs anymore

W. Blake Gray
Feature Stories
6 min read
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

A whole bunch of hot air

Simon J Woolf
Feature Stories
3 min read
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