Discovering Grüner Veltliner

Some wines reveal everything you need to know about them with the first sip. They are not grüner veltliners. Delicious, fascinating and widely varied, wines made from grüner veltliner are worthy of a long, passionate courtship. Here are ten essential facts about the wines to get you started.

1. Grüner veltliner is the signature grape of Austria.

2. It yields an aromatic dry white wine distinguished by flavors of pepper and stone fruit.

3. Styles run the gamut from light, fresh and simple, to rich, full-bodied and complex.

4. Grüner veltliners are unusually versatile when it comes to food pairings, complementing everything from a mixed salad, to asparagus, to salmon and poultry.

5. They account for a third of all the plantings in Austria.

6. The finest examples are cultivated on the steeped terraced vineyards of Wachau, Kamptaland Kremstal in Lower Austria, which benefit from extensive exposure to the autumn sun.

7. The wines are delightful in their youth.

8. If you can hold on to a good bottle for a decade or two, it will evoke white Burgundy with its opulence, fineness and flavors of honey and toast.

9. These are artisanal wines -- most grüner veltliners are grown on family owned estates.

10. A high percentage of Austrian grüner veltliner is organic. The country has the highest percentage of land in organic production of any EU country (almost nine percent), an impressive statistic when you consider that the EU grows a quarter of the world’s organic food.

Celebrating Napa's Mexican-American Wineries

The birth stories behind the growing number of Mexican-American wineries in the Napa Valley and Sonoma tend to follow a similar dramatic arc. It begins with an ambitious young man journeying to the United States in the nineteen sixties or seventies to work in the vineyards and bringing his family with him. After decades of acquiring expert viticulture skills, he opens a vineyard management company of his own or assumes a supervisory role at his place of work, assuring the leading lights of the industry that they will have high-quality fruit. As his children come of age, they join the business, vineyards are purchased and the family begins making wine under their own label. Such is the case for producers like Ceja Vineyards, Robledo Family Winery, Renteria, Bázan Family, Madrigal, and Maldonado.

Sometimes this wine country version of the American dream happens even faster. Rolando Herrera began his vineyard career laying stones for Warren Winiarski at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. He went on to become the winery’s cellar master, the winemaker at Vine Cliff Cellars and the director of winemaking at Paul Hobbs Consulting before founding the winery Mi Sueños.

These producers are poised to serve one of the fastest growing segments of the wine drinking population in the US. A recent report by Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research Advisory Group posits that if wine consumption in the Hispanic community grows to the same level as the broader US population, it will increase by close to fifty million cases over the next twenty years. According to Wines & Vines this means sales in the Hispanic community could account for 40% of the total growth in US wine consumption during the same period.

Flower Power

The appearance of tiny green flowers on the grape vine is perhaps the most critical juncture in the vineyard’s annual cycle. It occurs six to thirteen weeks after budburst, the moment in early spring when buds swell on the vine and erupt into a crown of foliage. You could easily miss it. Flowers on a grape vine are the color of their host plant and the size of a button on a dress shirt. Winemakers watch them like hawks because within a few weeks each flower will shed its petals, self-pollinate and transform into a nascent grape. Since each flower that fertilizes becomes a nascent grape, floweringdetermines both the size of the vintage and whether or not all the fruit in the vineyard will be at the same state of evolution come the harvest. For most winemakers, it is a real nail biter. 

In most of the northern hemisphere, a good flowering occurs over the course of three or foursun-drenched days in early June. If the weather is too wet or too cold, the flowering will be uneven. Worse yet, horror stories abound of entire crops being lost to hail, freezing rain, wind, or even too many clouds. 

Ideally, flowering is followed by two weeks of temperate weather during which the blossoms transform into berries. Many vintners leave their vineyards alone throughout this period for fear of disturbing the natural process. Even under the best circumstances, flowering does not happen entirely at once. It is staggered by grape variety and a vineyard’s exposure to the sun. In California, chardonnay blossoms first, followed by pinot noir and merlot, then cabernet sauvignon and petite verdot. 

Chris Howell, the winemaker at Cain Vineyard & Winery on Spring Mountain, describes flowering in the Napa Valley as a tight wave that moves up from Carneros, to Napa to Yountville and beyond. He calls it, “a reproductive moment and strong marking point,” since prospective harvest dates are calculated as one hundred to one hundred ten days after the event. 

Alto Adige

The Italian wine region Alto Adige looks like an amphitheater carved into the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains. Despite its northern locale, it is one of the country’s warmest growing regions. In Alto Adige, the sun shines an average of three hundred days a year, the curved landscape traps warm Mediterranean breezes, and the towering Dolomites form a barrier protecting the region from chilling northerly alpine winds.

The main reason Alto Adige isn’t better known outside Italy is that so many grape varieties thrive in its many microclimates, making the region one of country’s best kept secrets. Its whites are bright and aromatic. At every price point, Alto Adige’s pinot grigio, chardonnay, gewürztraminer and pinot bianco (pinot blanc) are among Italy’s best. It also produces expressive red wines, particularly pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and the local variety lagrein.

Situated where the borders of Italy, Switzerland and Austria converge, the local culture is a blend of German and Italian. A perfect example of this is Törggelen, the harvest season tradition of hiking into hills for a picnic of local delicacies such as speck, chestnuts, apples and cheese washed down with wine from the new vintage. Törggelen comes from the Italian torchio meaning winepress, but the traditional meal has unmistakably German roots.

Recommended wineries include Cantina Terlano for age-worthy white wines; Elena Walch for gewürztraminer; Alois Lageder for superb biodynamic offerings especially pinot grigio; Hofstatter for gewürztraminer and lagrein; and Colterenzio, a pioneering cooperative.

Charles Curtis, M.W. on Buying Wine at Auction

Buying wine at auction can intimidate even the most passionate wine lovers. But with a little preparation, it is a great way to build a collection.

“It’s a misconception that only super expensive wines are at auction,” says Charles Curtis, MW, and former Head of Wine for Christie’s auction houses in Asia and the Americas. “You can buy wine at auction all day and not spend a fortune. It’s a matter of having the discipline to buy well.”

Curtis advises: Only buy wines from a reputable auction house. Before you go, you should decide which types of wine you want to add to your cellar. Know the lots on offer. Research the going price for the lots you that are of interest to you. Pay attention to the condition of the wine. Finally, decide which lots you want to bid on, bid up to that point and stop.

Curtis adds, “What you don’t want to do is say, ‘So-and-so is having a wine auction. Let’s check it out!’” Auctions can be where greed, gluttony and drunkenness converge. They will feed you and pour you nice wines before the bidding starts. You have to make it like homework. After you do your research, make a little spreadsheet and stick to it! Otherwise, when a lot comes up that you really want, you may bid until all of the sudden you’ve paid 40% more than the market price. Yet with a little preparation and discipline, you could build a cellar of mature treasures at a very reasonable price. 

Introducing Jura

Jura is a French wine region located in a narrow fifty-mile strip in the mountains between Burgundy and Switzerland. Its high-altitude vineyards spent centuries in relative obscurity before being rediscovered in recent years by influential sommeliers and wine geeks the world over.

For those new to the region, discovered is not necessarily understood. Jura is home to an unusually wide array of idiosyncratic wines--some are lip smacking, others are fascinating but not overtly delicious. We’ve put together a crib sheet to Jura to help anchor your experiences.

For chardonnay and pinot noir, think of Jura as Burgundy’s cool cousin to the east. Cooler temperatures and rich limestone soils yield high-quality classically styled wines in a lighter fresher style.

It is with white wines made from the local white variety, savagnin that Jura begins to defy expectations. These wines are made sous-voile or “under the veil.” After fermentation the wines are aged in barrel, usually for three years. The barrels are neither topped off nor stirred, so that a protective layer of yeasts grow, as with fino Sherry. These wines are never fortified; they are at once delicate, complex and aromatic and will challenge your expectations of what white wine should taste like.

Jura’s most famous sous-voile wine is Vin Jaune: late harvest savagnin that has spent at least six years in small oak barrels under a protective blanket of yeasts developing complex and beguiling aromas walnuts, almonds, honey, apples and sweet spices. The finest examples of Vin Jaune come from the appellation Chateau-Chalon.

Jura’s two native red varieties, trousseau and poulsard, yield wines a shade darker than rosé. Trousseau tends to be softer with red and black fruits. Poulsard is more structured and perfumed, sometimes with an earthy character. 

The Beauty of Bolgheri

This may come as a shock, but most wine regions are not inherently beautiful. Grape vines thrive in nutrient poor soil, as do few other plants, save olive trees and succulents. Indeed, it is often the vineyards and wineries themselves that lend our most beloved wine regions their character and charm. Then there’s Bolgheri, a slice of heaven on Italy’s west coast, rising from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the foothills of the Colline Metallifere.

Bolgheri possesses all the bells and whistles one could want from the natural world: white sand beaches, mountains, rivers, lush forests, ducks and wild boar. Lined by more than 2,500 cypress trees, even the three-mile road to the village, the grand Viale dei Cipressi, suggests you have entered nature’s castle.

As for the wines, picture Bordeaux varieties (cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc), along with sangiovese and syrah, luxuriating under the Tuscan sun, while being cooled by a wind stream stretching between rivers along the region’s northern and southern borders.

It’s no wonder Bolgheri produces some of Italy’s most opulent and collectable bottles: Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Guado al Tasso, Massetto and Ca’Marcanda immediately come to mind. Bolgheri also offers delicious characterful wines that will spare you the sticker shock: look for offerings from Aia Vecchia, Poggio al Moro and Ceralti.

Bolgheri’s dark dense wines grown by the sea are perfect for special evening meals as summer’s warm nights transition into autumn’s cool evenings.

 

The Wines of Boroli

Italy’s Piedmont region not only borders France and Switzerland, its food and wine embody many of the finest qualities of the three nations. “Piedmont” means foothills, specifically the lush green slopes beneath the Alps, where pastures yield world-class cheeses and veal so tender, crudo is a local staple. It is an epicure’s heaven: the fish is caught fresh in nearby Liguria, the roots of oak trees are a favorite hiding place for truffles, butter is used as liberally as olive oil, and the most important local grape variety, nebbiolo, is the foundation for Barolo, one of the most collectible wines in the world.

Nebbiolo is a thin-skinned red grape that, with enough time on the vine, develops ripe cherry flavors anchored by a bouquet of roses, violets, tar and forest floor. What sets the variety apart is its texture, the penetrating dry tannins accompanied by high acidity. It is the reason Barolo ages gracefully for decades, and why Barolo traditionally takes a good ten years to become approachable.

In the past, Barolo producers looking to quicken the process made wines in the “international style,” a shorthand for ample use of new oak barrels and intensely concentrated fruit. These Barolos were easy drinking in their youth but an anathema to purists, since flavors of toast and vanilla along with a perception of sweetness masked nebbiolo’s bewitching aromatics.

Today, a more modern approach to making accessible Barolo has taken hold. Wineries like Boroli are using contemporary fermentation techniques to soften tannins, while crafting wines with fresh fruit, clarity and precision. These wines, while not the classics, open a beautiful window into Barolo for nebbiolo lovers keen to enjoy a bottle upon release, pronto!

The Boroli Barolo 2008 is a particularly good value. The cool wet vintage meant fewer single-vineyard bottlings and more top lots of nebbiolo in the blended bottling. It goes beautifully with braised veal or wild mushroom risotto.

Women in Wine: Trailblazers

Just a few decades ago, it was rare to find a woman winemaker at the helm of a world-class winery or vineyard. It took a generation of female vintners with vision, talent and perseverance to change the math. Many were inspired by the example of women like Zelma Long, who was the only woman in her class in the 1960s when she studied viticulture and oenology at the University of California at Davis. Long went on to be the chief oenologist for ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY in its heyday from 1973 to 1979. Since then, women have become responsible for many of the finest wines available. From Cathy Corrison, whose CORISON “Kronos” in the Napa Valley sets the regional standard for elegance in cabernet sauvignon to Chiara Boschis of E. PIRA AND FIGLI who helped define the modern style of Italian Barolo, women winemakers now make coveted wines informed by their own values and style. The albariñios by Alexia Luca de Tena for BODEGAS AGNUSDEI in Rias Baixas, Spain, are known for their depth and complexity.

Because of Laurence Feraud, the word “blockbuster” is synonymous with DOMAINE DU PEGAU Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Elisabetta Foradori of FORADORI in the Italian Dolomites single-handedly resuscitated teroldego, the delicious smoky indigenous grape variety. Véronique Drouhin upholds DOMAINE DROUHIN’S impeccable standards in Burgundy and Oregon. Heidi Schrock’s old-vine blaufränkisch from her eponymous winery in Burgenland, Austria, has won awards the world over. Through her respect for nature, Emilia Nardi transformed TENUTE SILVIO NARDI, her family’s property in Brunello di Montalcino, Italy, which now produces some of the most terroir driven wines in the region. These trailblazers produced memorable bottles vintage after vintage as they broke the glass ceiling, making it possible for the next generation of women winemakers to pursue their dreams in wineries from Cape Town to Mendoza to Burgundy. 

Washington's Columbia Valley Merlot

A broadly drawn wine map of Northern California and the Pacific North West would designate the Napa Valley in California as the classic region for cabernet sauvignon, the Willamette Valley in Oregon as the American home of pinot noir, and the Columbia Valley in Washington state as the country’s premier producer of merlot. Yet unlike Napa cabs and Oregon pinots, which have plenty of cache and adoring fans, the high quality of Columbia Valley merlot tends to fly under the radar. Sideways aside, this is most likely because those of us who have not had the good fortune to taste a merlot from Masseto, Pomerol or Pride Mountain Vineyard often lack the framework for understanding just how delicious the variety can be at its pinnacle.

What makes Columbia Valley merlot so special? The Cascade Mountains form a massive wall, known as a rain shadow, along the Columbia Valley’s western border, which prevents the wet weather of the Pacific coast from reaching the valley floor. The valley also happens to be located along the same latitude as Bordeaux. As a result, it is a stony desert with well-drained soil and the kind of warm days and cool nights that allow merlot to ripen fully while retaining high acidity and firm tannins. In the glass, this means Columbia Valley merlot benefits from great structure on which to hang its luscious fruit.

A great place to begin exploring the merlots of Washington state is Northstar, a boutique winery under the Chateau Ste. Michelle umbrella with the sole purpose of sourcing the best merlot from more than a dozen vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley and blending the fruit into a wine that showcases the finer points of the region and variety. The blend includes merlot from Red Mountain, Cold Creek, Horse Heaven, Yakima and Walla Walla. The Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot is deep purple with aromas of blueberries, plums, white pepper, anise, and smoke, a gentle tannic grip and bright acidity. It is a hearty wine best served with rotisserie chicken, lamb, barbeque or well-seasoned chili.

Why Does Wine Cry?

Dan Quinn a PhD student at Princeton University studying theoretical and experimental fluid mechanics in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program, is now one of the web’s most engaging wine teachers as well. After attending a lecture in which his professor used “legs” or “tears” on the side of a glass of wine to explain surface tension, Quinn shot home video footage of what happens when red wine is swirled in a glass. Viewed at twelve times its normal speed, the footage demonstrated surface tension in action.

Quinn applied the narrative techniques he picked up as president of the Filmmakers Society at the University of Virginia to share the science behind “Why Does Wine Cry” with the YouTube audience. The results are mesmerizing. By combining the high-speed footage with simple animation, concise voiceovers and trip hop music by Emancipator, surface tension becomes as accessible as any subject covered by School House Rock.

This is what you’ll learn: Wine is mostly water and alcohol. Water has higher surface tension than alcohol. When you swirl a glass of wine, the alcohol in the wine on the side of the glass evaporates faster than the alcohol of the wine in the bowl. Consequently, the wine on the side of the glass has a higher percentage of water and a higher surface tension, causing it physically to pull droplets of wine up the side of the glass. What determines the size, shape and density of a wine’s “tears” or “legs” remains unknown -- though it seems likely that Dan Quinn will be the one to find out.

Seven Families, One Champagne House

Jean-Philippe Moulin could have simply retired in 2007 when he stepped down as head winemaker at Champagne Ruinart, Champagne’s oldest House. Instead he joined Champagne Paul Goerg as managing director and head winemaker, choosing to learn about Champagne from the point of view of the growers. Paul Goerg is an association of seven families with more than a hundred relatives who collectively own and farm nearly three hundred acres of Premier and Grand Cru vineyards in the area known as the Côte des Blancs. Freed from vying with competitors to purchase the best grapes, Jean-Philippe’s work now begins with cultivating exceptional quality fruit. Subsequently, he manages each detail of the Champagne-making process from pressing, to vinification, blending and disgorgement.

The families behind Paul Goerg began collaborating in the 1950s, providing fresh-pressed chardonnay to well established Houses such as Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger, and Charles Heidsieck for use in their blends. In 1984, the families set out to build their own line of Champagnes named for Paul Goerg, the renowned négociant and mayor of the village of Vertus, remembered for his passionate commitment to preserving the quality of the local vineyards.

The Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs Brut is an ideal place to begin to understand Champagne, not just as a party drink, but as a fine wine and aesthetic experience. The Champagne is 100% chardonnay sourced from Premier Cru vineyards at the base of the Montagne de Reims. There, the south-facing slopes provide rich supple wines and the east-facing slopes yield wines that are firmer and more mineral driven. Made with 40% reserve wine and aged for more than three years before being released, the Champagne has fine bubbles, delicate citrus and acacia aromas, and a long creamy finish. Serve it as an aperitif or with seafood, sushi, or sole meuniér.

A Recipe for Rosè and Autumn Nights

Valérie Rousselle knows a thing or two about entertaining. A Saint-Tropez native and the proprietor of Château Roubine, a Cru Classé winery in the Côtes de Provence, she studied hospitality at the famed Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland before becoming the steward of a historic vineyard that once belonged to the Order of the Knights of the Templar. 

In the autumn, once the grapes have been harvested and the chilling winds of the mistral wind blow down from Rhône River, Valérie invites friends to the winery to welcome the new season with a glass of her Prestige rosé and a dish of eggplant “caviar” served warm. 

We love her eggplant “caviar” for the alluring smoky flavor taken on by the eggplants when roasted directly on the stovetop, and because it can be made in the time it takes to put some olives in a bowl and pull the cork from the bottle. The Château Roubine rosé is a beautifully textured blend of mourvèdre and syrah with a pale salmon hue and aromas of flowers and spice. 

Eggplant “Caviar”
Serves 4 

Ingredients:
- 2 Japanese eggplant
- 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper 

Blister the eggplants directly on stovetop flame (as if you are roasting a pepper), turning them regularly until their skins are entirely charred and black. Set the roasted eggplants aside to cool for two minutes, then slice the eggplants in half and scoop the soft flesh into a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and puree with an immersion blender. Alternatively, transfer the entire mixture to the jar of a traditional blender and puree for 30-60 seconds, until the mixture is creamy. 

Serve warm with thick slices of toasted baguette and your favorite Provencal rosé. 

A Cinderella Story in Chianti Rufina

The story of Selvapiana is a fairytale come true. It begins with a beautiful hilltop castle surrounded by olive trees and sangiovese vineyards. Once a summer residence for Florentine bishops and later under five generations of family ownership, the property eventually came under the stewardship of Count Francesco Giuntini Antinori who had no children. As he grew older, the count looked around the castle and at all the villagers and decided that the future of the property would be best served if it was placed in the hands of his estate manager’s two children who were born there. In 1994, four years after his estate-manager passed away, the count adopted the brother and sister and made them his heirs in perhaps the ultimate example of loving the family you choose. The story even has a happy ending. Today the count’s adopted children, Silvia and Federico Giuntini A. Masseti are the winery’s managing directors, leaders in organic farming and international spokesmen for the wines of Chianti Rufina. And if that weren’t enough, the Selvapiana “Bucerchiale” Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG is a benchmark for elegance in Chianti Rufina and one of Italy’s great wine values.

The Count turned 80 years old on September 13th and celebrated with a grand lunch at the winery with Silvia, Federico and 150 of his closest friends and relatives. Guests came from throughout Italy and from as far as India, New York, and Denmark. As Selvapiana was one of several Tuscan estates owned by the count’s parents, cousins from Badia a Coltibuono in Chianti Classico and Capezzana in Carmignano and a niece from La Parrina in Maremma were at the heart of the festivities.

The party began in the garden with an aperitivo of wine and cheese from La Parrina, then moved indoors for lunch. There was a primi (first course) of risotto with sangiovese grapes and Chianti Rufina, a secondi (second course) of roasted wild boar and a dolci (dessert) showcasing a giant napoleon topped with 80 candles. Selvapiana “Bucerchiale” Chianti Rufina Riserva was served with the main meal and a special library vintage of the Bucerchiale accompanied dessert.

SELVAPIANA “Bucerchiale” Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG, 2007 (Italy) $31 
Made from 100% old-vine sangiovese grown at high altitude in limestone and schist, the wine is concentrated with wild cherry and tobacco flavors, great length and liveliness. Delicious upon release, with time, it softens and develops aromas of truffles, berries, and the scent of the forest floor. Available here

Recipe:
Risotto with Red Grapes and Chianti Rufina
Serves: 4
Preparation time: approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cups Italian short grain rice, such as Carnaroli or Arborio
¾ cup Chianti Rufina or other dry red wine
2 cups ripe seedless red grapes, cut in half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Bring the vegetable broth to a simmer. Meanwhile, combine the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-bottom pan over a medium-low flame. Once the butter melts, add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes until translucent. Add the thyme and the rice, sauté for 2 more minutes using a wooden spoon and stirring frequently. Add the red wine and stir constantly until the liquid has been absorbed. Be sure to scrape the side and bottom of the pot ensure the rice doesn’t stick. Add the warm broth to the rice in ½ cup increments. Stir until the broth has been absorbed before adding another ½ cup. After about 18 minutes the rice will be tender but firm to the bite. Add the grapes and grated Parmesan, cook for two more minutes, stir gently until the grapes soften. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Happy Endings: Moscatao d'Asti and Rustic Fruit Tarts

Italians understand the true role of dessert. After anantipasti, primi and secondi, the dolci need not be a meal in itself, but a subtle shift from savory to sweet to linger over at the end of a meal. Think biscotti, panna cotta, dried figs and rustic fruit tarts. So it is not surprising that they invented Moscato d’Asti DOCG, what may be the perfect dessert wine. Made in Piedmont from ripe Moscato Bianco grapes, the pale gold, lightly effervescent, off-dry moscato d’Asti tends to be nimble on the palate and rich with fresh aromas of apricots, orange blossoms, honeysuckle and almonds. 

Moscato d’Asti is exceeding low in alcohol (5.5%)--less than half that of Champagne--which makes it a gentle final nip after a glass or two of wine earlier in the night. It is also an affordable luxury, usually for less than twenty dollars a bottle, and crafted by the same venerable Piedmont producers that make collectable Barolo and Barbaresco. But don’t let hallowed names like Vietti and Chiarlo trick you into cellaring these bottles. A mouthful of moscato d’Asti should offer the sensation of biting into a just picked perfectly ripe pear -- the younger, the fresher, the better. Also, be careful not to confuse moscato d’Asti with plain moscato, which is often made from bulk wine and lacks moscato d’Asti’s finesse and charm. 

Recommended wines include the Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti, a delicately aromatic tribute to Michele’s father who used to filter Moscato d’Asti with Dutch sail cloth; the Tenimenti Ca’Bianca, a lovely frizzante wine with lingering notes of pine nuts and clementines; and the Vietti Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta, which is luscious and beautifully balanced.

Dalla Terra: A Guide to the Best of Italy

Brian Larky, Dalla Terra’s chairman and founder, is a pilot, deep powder skier, white water guide, and dive master. He is also a UC Davis trained winemaker who after five years at Ca’ del Bosco in Lombardy returned to the US to become a winery agent. In 1990 he started Dalla Terra (meaning from the earth) under a business model called Winery Direct, which foregoes the importer and sells directly to the distributers. None of this would matter if all eighteen producers in Larky’s portfolio of family-owned wineries weren’t superb representatives of the styles and traditions of their respective regions. But when you look at his list—Tenute Marchesi di Gresy in Barbaresco, Alois Lageder in Alto Adige, Casanova di Neri in Montalcino, Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico, La Valentina near Pescara, Masseria Li Veli in Puglia, to name a few—you realize that Dalla Terra is all about delivering the highest quality wine at the best value.

A standout in the Dalla Terra portfolio is the Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco. Founded in 1873, Vietti is one of the oldest family owned estates in Barolo. Its winery, which is built into the hillside of Castiglione Falletto, contains dusty bottles originally intended to be rations for the commanders of Napoleon’s forces. While Vietti is famous for its single vineyard Barolo bottlings, their grand cru Nebbiolo can be sampled for a relative song with the Nebbiolo Perbacco, an entry-level wine made from a blend of their grand crus. “Perbacco,” fittingly, is an old-Italian expression for “Wow!”

The Gold Standard in Grower Champagne

Terry Theise calls himself an introvert capable of portraying an extrovert in small doses. In those small doses he has done more than perhaps any person on earth to bring respect, attention and legions of fans to the grace and precision of rieslings from the classic growing regions of Germany and Austria. With far less fanfare, and arguably even greater success, over the last decade and a half he has also introduced Americans to the pleasures of ‘grower Champagne’. Today his portfolio, Terry Theise Estate Selections, is the gold standard of this category, broadly defined as sparkling wines from the Champagne region produced by the estate that owns the vineyards from which the grapes are sourced. Grower Champagnes can be identified by the presence of the initials RM (for récolant-manipulant) in tiny print on the wine label. At their best, grower Champagnes express choice vineyard sites and artisanal winemaking. For example, Denis Varnier of Varnier-Fanniére forgoes temperature-controlled fermentation when making his Grand Cru Champagnes, and Alexandre Chartogne of Chartogne-Taillet includes within his blends a high percentage of wines from older vintages. This gives his final Champagnes a sense of integration and richness.

Grower Champagnes can sometimes deliver higher quality at lower prices than the large Champagne firms , since large PR and marketing budgets are not built into the cost of each bottle. But not all grower Champagnes are created equal. With their soaring popularity, it can be difficult to sort the transcendent from the mediocre. That’s why it’s helpful to have a passionate and experienced treasure hunter as your curator. If you look at the back of a Champagne bottle and see it is one of the Terry Theise Estate Selections, you are in for the real deal.

Challenging Conventions in Bordeaux

At 41, Stephen Carrier of Château de Fieuzal may be among the youngest head winemakers at a Bordeaux Cru Classé winery, but that has not stopped him from challenging the conventions of the historic appellation. The son of grape growers from Champagne, Carrier’s first job as an oenologist was at Newton Vineyard on Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley. Napa made an enormous impression on Carrier, who internalized the local habit of always questioning whether it is possible to make a better wine.

He fine-tuned his skills crafting Bordeaux blends at Château Lynch Bages in the Bordeaux commune of Pauillac. A few years later, Carrier took the reigns at Château de Fieuzal in the commune of Pessac-Léognan, where, rather than stick to a prescribed recipe, he makes wines that reflect the character of the vintage. In a warm year, like 2009, he uses mostly cabernet sauvignon. In a cool year, like 2010, he accesses a wider palate, adding cabernet franc, petite verdot and merlot. The wines are vinified in a new 40,000 sq. ft. facility equipped with oak, cement and stainless steel tanks of varying sizes. Carrier calls the new wine making facility his “kitchen” because it offers numerous tools for being responsive to the specific nature of each harvest.

The wines of Château de Fieuzal, both red and white, are value wines and a first-rate gateway to the pleasures of Bordeaux, a region that can be difficult to penetrate given the stratospheric prices of the top five chateau known as First Growths. The Fieuzal Rouge is opulent with firm tannins and aromas of blackberries, lilacs and woodlands. The Fiuezal Blanc is an age-worthy blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon that exudes citrus and mineral flavors.

Originally puplished by Bottlenotes

Winter Pruning and Tai Chi at Château Lafon-Rochet

With the work of producing fruit complete, vines soak up the last of the autumn sun to create energy reserves to store for use in the spring. Once the foliage has dropped, the wood on the vine hardens, and the sap descends to the vines’ roots. It is time for winter pruning to begin. 

More than any other event in the cycle of the vine, winter pruning straddles past and future. It is a reflective process during which the winemaker takes stock of the previous seasons and chooses a direction for the year to come. His or her decisions determine the vineyard’s potential to produce fruit for the next summer and influence the quality and character of future wines.

At Château Lafon-Rochet, the Grand Cru estate in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of Bordeaux, winter pruning takes place from mid November to the first days of March. The work is demanding and technical. It requires a deep understanding of the vines and the vision of the château, along with long hours in the field when the region is dark, wet and cold. Château Lafon-Rochet owners, Michel and Basile Tesseron, believe tending their vineyards begins with taking care of their vineyard workers, particularly in the winter months when the bitter weather often leads to stiff muscles and aching bones. Thus, twice a week from November to March, the nine men and five women who comprise their vineyard team meet in the wine cellar at 7:30 a.m. for twenty minutes of Tai Chi with Michel Tesseron and their coach. What has become a treasured ritual has also resulted in fewer injuries and greater overall happiness at work. If the story of wine is the story of the men and women who dedicate themselves to living in tandem with a particular terroir, then this is a truly eloquent argument for adopting a holistic view of what it means to practice sustainable viticulture. 

La Route des Châteaux

The Route des Châteaux is a bit like the wine world’s version of the map to the homes of the stars. Officially known as D2, it traces the path of the Gironde River northwest of the city of Bordeaux through the Médoc, cabernet sauvignon’s native home, offering a tour of the region’s most prestigious classified growths.

To drive the Route des Châteaux through Margaux, St-Julien, Pauillac and St-Estèphe is to experience sensory overload. You can’t help but marvel at the classical proportions of the neo-Palladian villa of Château Margaux; experience a revelation about Château Latour as you witness how its gravelly vineyards slope toward the river’s edge; or begin to associate the gardens of Château Rauzan-Ségla with the wine’s beguiling floral aromas. Plan your trip in advance. Choose two châteaux you would like to get to know better and book your tastings long before you go.

Tastings are generally by appointment only. To organize a tasting at your favorite producer, go to the winery’s website and click on the contact page. Under the heading “visiting us” will be the email address of the person or department with whom you need to coordinate. Be sure to include your preferred times and dates.

Most of the top houses welcome visitors, including Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, Château Gruaud-Larose, Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Cos d’Estournel. If you collect wines from a château that does not have an official public tasting program, see if your local wine shop can help. If they can’t, they may be able to recommend a producer with a comparable style.