Wine

On Saturday, June 19, OperaWine gathered 186 top Italian wine producers for a gala tasting in Verona. It was the 10th edition of the event, created by Wine Spectator in partnership with Vinitaly, the national trade fair. Normally, OperaWine kicks off Vinitaly, the nation’s most important wine trade fair. But for two years, nothing has

The U.S. and European Union have reportedly agreed to suspend tariffs related to their long-term dispute over aircraft subsidies for five years. Earlier this year, the two parties had paused the tariffs for four months, but that window was soon set to expire, adding renewed urgency to the situation for companies across multiple industries, including

Oregon and Burgundy’s relationship is deepening. Evenstad Estates, the owner of Oregon’s Domaine Serene and Burgundy’s Château de la Crée and Maison Evenstad, announced today a significant expansion in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or with the acquisition of Domaine Christian Confuron & Fils. The domaine includes 15 acres of grands crus and premiers crus vineyards in the

More than a year after shutting its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Eleven Madison Park has reopened. The New York destination typically debuts new menus every season, but this one comes with a twist: As of June 10, the restaurant is the first Grand Award winner to offer exclusively

Wine lovers may have had to wait an additional year to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience, with the event canceled last year due to the pandemic, but if ticket sales for this fall’s Wine Experience are any indication, they’re intent on making up for lost time. Tickets for the

Last year, the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) trade association announced the discontinuation of Auction Napa Valley, one of the nation’s premier charity wine auctions. Today NVV announced that the nonprofit association’s fundraising efforts will become a year-round program, called Collective Napa Valley, with a series of seasonal, multifaceted events both in and out of Napa.

Back in September, New York restaurateur Danny Meyer was begging governor Andrew Cuomo to permit 25 percent occupancy across New York City’s restaurants. The CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), which includes Best of Award of Excellence winners Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern, and Grand Award winner The Modern, had already laid off 90

Andy Walker may not be a household name in the world of wine consumers, but his impact on wine is legendary. Walker—formally Dr. M. Andrew Walker, but everyone calls him Andy—has educated hundreds of winemakers, grapegrowers and breeders around the world, and often educated their kids or even their grandkids. He’s edited the American Society

After a year largely spent at home, wine lovers are looking forward to reconnecting in person with friends and family, dining out, traveling to wine country and attending tastings again. How will you be enjoying wine this year? Share your story about your love of wine by submitting your short video to Wine Spectator’s 15th

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars founders Warren and Barbara Winiarski made waves when their Cabernet Sauvignon stood out at the Judgment of Paris in 1976, enhancing the reputations of their winery and of Napa Valley. They enshrined their legacy 20 years later when they donated $50,000 to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History to

In 2020, chef and TV personality Bobby Flay closed his Mesa Grill at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace hotel and casino. Last month, Flay revived the space as Amalfi by Bobby Flay, his first venture with Italian cuisine. Joining his other restaurants, including Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic

Following a vehicle crash on May 12 on a back road near the town Sebastopol, Calif., in Sonoma County wine country, a winemaker is dead and a young vineyard manager is facing DUI and possible manslaughter charges. Mark Osborne, 53, an enologist at Gary Farrell Winery in the Russian River Valley, was riding his bicycle

Alejandro Fernandez, who revolutionized Spain’s Ribera del Duero region with his determination and his iconic wine, Pesquera, died May 22 in Santander. He was 88. “The passing of our friend and mentor Alejandro Fernández is also the passing of an era bridging the past to the future,” said Steve Metzler and Almudena de Llaguno, founders

Heidi Scheid enjoys a glass of wine every night. “Wine is just a part of everyday living, the perfect way to segue from a busy schedule to a relaxed evening,” says Scheid, who is the executive vice president of Scheid Family Wines in Monterey, Calif. “But I also like to get up early, exercise and

Chef Daniel Boulud opens his highly anticipated, sprawling new seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan’s One Vanderbilt skyscraper this week. Le Pavillon debuts with a limited number of dinner reservations May 20, followed by a full opening on May 28. The restaurant takes its name from the New York destination that’s widely credited for putting French

A year ago it was hard to fathom how Bordeaux wineries would conduct a futures campaign, selling their latest vintage as a global pandemic raged. But they managed to pull it off. Now they have launched the campaign for 2020 futures, and while conditions in many of their leading markets have improved, it is hardly

For many wine lovers, relaxation can often be found in a glass of good wine. And stress reduction is a matter of health: High stress levels can lead to adverse cardiovascular effects such as high blood pressure. A new study has found promising results for moderate alcohol consumption and reducing stress-related brain signals responsible for heart

Jim Clendenen, who brought a love of Burgundy to his groundbreaking Santa Barbara winery Au Bon Climat and helped put the region on the world winemaking stage, died in his sleep the night of May 15 at his home in the Los Alamos district near the town of Buellton, Calif. He was 68. Clendenen was

Since the passing of California Proposition 64 in 2016, which legalized the commercial and recreational growing of cannabis, many farmers are moving to the Golden State’s top winegrowing regions to cultivate the cash-crop. While some winegrowers are unbothered by the rise in cannabis farming, many others are worried that they have to compete with the

When Donae Burston began conversations with Constellation Brands in summer 2020, he saw the United States’ largest maker and marketer of alcoholic beverages as the key to expanding his French rosé brand, La Fête du Rosé. Today, Constellation has announced it has purchased a minority stake in La Fête, marking the first move in its

Two long-established Sonoma County wineries lost their homes this week as the parent companies of Sebastiani and Clos du Bois laid off workers and shifted production to other facilities. The brands will continue, but the wines will be made elsewhere. In the case of Sebastiani, this marks an end of an era. The winery, located

When Louis de Bonnecaze started diving into digital currencies in 2015, he saw a unique opportunity for the fine wine industry. Three years later, the CEO of BTC Wine, a Bordeaux-based wine retailer, became one of the first to accept cryptocurrencies, or “crypto,” as payment for prestigious French wines. “I thought it was a good

Anyone thinking that France’s vintners had put the risk of frost behind them with the end of April were mistaken. Frigid air from the Arctic swept over France again the first week of May, less than a month after freezing temperatures devastated numerous wine regions. “We had another hit of frost the morning [of May

David Bruce, a pioneer in winemaking in the Santa Cruz Mountains and an early advocate of California Pinot Noir, died April 28. He was 89. “He was a trailblazer in the Santa Cruz Mountains,” said Jeffrey Patterson, owner and winemaker of Mount Eden Vineyards. “He was an unabashed Burgundy man, and he planted one of

Chef John Fraser, whose 701West holds Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, opened Iris April 21 in Midtown Manhattan. The restaurant offers Aegean-style dining, influenced by Turkish cuisine and Fraser’s Greek background, with an emphasis on plant-based dishes. “This restaurant is such a direct expression of my heritage and passion, as seen through the

The Destin Charity Wine Auction made a strong comeback following an uncertain year for live events, raising more than $2 million for 16 local children’s charities. Organizers refocused their efforts by introducing a hybrid model that combined in-person events with virtual auctions, and it paid off by raising nearly $700,000 more than last year’s $1.35

When Kyle MacLachlan finished a screen test for his first feature film, Dune, director David Lynch thanked him by sending a bottle of Château Lynch-Bages to his L.A. hotel room. It was MacLachlan’s first taste of Bordeaux and the first of many wine encounters he’d have along a storied acting career filled with memorable characters.

As vintners and scientists search for ways to increase the sustainability of farming and winemaking practices, some are looking to give grape pomace, or marc, new life. This oft-forgotten byproduct of winemaking accounts for thousands of tons of waste annually. Past research has suggested numerous alternative uses, however, from grapeseed oil to biofuel to beauty

Kurt Russell was in between takes on the set of Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof when he eyed the vineyards of Sta. Rita Hills. A year later, he started his first wine venture at the same spot off Highway 246. Russell’s passion for wine started nearly three decades before that, tasting wines with his wife, Goldie

Fernando Buscema has been asking the same question for over a decade: Can terroir be measured? The Bodega Catena Zapata winemaker and director of the Catena Institute of Wine, an Argentine enology research program, hoped that answering it could raise the stakes for the wines of Argentina. A new study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal in February