Wine

Difficult, expensive wine projects have exerted a lifelong gravitational pull on Pablo Álvarez Mezquíriz—one that has not weakened with time. Two years shy of his 70th birthday—the date he has promised to step down as chief executive officer of his Vega Sicilia Spanish wine empire—Álvarez just announced he is building a new winery in Galicia,

The two Englishmen started showing up at investor conferences in 2015, armed with an enticing proposition. Attendees could, via their London-based wine brokerage, Bordeaux Cellars, lend money to wealthy borrowers-in-a-bind who needed fast loans, no questions asked. The lenders would receive interest at the rate of 12 percent, paid quarterly. Normally, such a high rate

Firefighters raced to the Larson Family Winery, a small producer in the Carneros region of Sonoma, on the evening of March 2, as a fire raged through the barn that serves as the winery’s tasting room. They were able to save adjacent structures, including the winery. The majority of the winery’s inventory was also spared,

Atlanta restaurant Lazy Betty, a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner, is making its dining experience more inclusive and comfortable for those with sensory processing needs, such as people with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. The restaurant’s team has been working toward this goal with nonprofit KultureCity, which specializes in helping businesses

As part of ongoing efforts to improve diversity in the wine industry, the Roots Fund, Wine Spectator and Zachys have partnered to create a new wine auction to raise money for the nonprofit organization’s initiatives to help members of Black, indigenous, Latinx and other underrepresented communities enter the wine industry. The auction, taking place April

Freshly revamped for a post-pandemic wine world, Premiere Napa Valley introduced a new auction partner and approach for 2022, raising $2.7 million for Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), the local trade group that promotes the wines, producers and appellations of the Napa region. The live auction on Feb. 27 brought in $2.1 million of the total.

Alain Graillot, whose eponymous domaine became the standard-bearer for the Crozes-Hermitage appellation in France’s Northern Rhône Valley, passed away due to a stroke on March 3, according to his longtime exporter. He was 77. In 1985, Graillot was living in Paris and pursuing a career in agricultural chemicals when he suddenly changed course. He bought

The Southwest Florida Wine and Food Fest charity auction is back on track after going virtual in 2021, hosting an in-person event and raising $2.1 million for local pediatric healthcare programs, with more than half of the money coming from live auction bids. The last time this top annual charity event bested the $2 million

One of Napa’s iconic wineries is changing hands. Doug Shafer, president of Shafer Vineyards, announced this morning that Shinsegae Property, a luxury brand firm based in Seoul, South Korea, with department stores, shopping centers, golf resorts, hotels and other interests, has acquired his family’s winery. While neither side disclosed details, the price tag is a reported

Chef and restaurateur Marc Forgione opened Peasant Wine Bar in New York’s Nolita neighborhood on Jan. 25. Occupying the wine cellar of Forgione’s Peasant restaurant, the new concept combines the chef’s spin on Italian cuisine with a similarly focused wine list. Forgione is also the restaurateur behind Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner

America’s top charity wine auction outdid itself over the weekend, raising $23 million for children’s charities. The Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF), which has consistently held the top spot among charity wine auctions in recent years, was held in-person on Jan. 30 after going virtual last year. All the funds help support underprivileged children in

A few hours after a long workout, do you like to reward yourself with a glass of wine? Past research has shown a link between regular exercise, moderate drinking and a longer life, but a new study has found that people who exercise more tend to drink more as well. The study, published in Medicine

Early this month, Geordie’s, the Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winner housed inside Phoenix’s historic Wrigley Mansion, named CJ Kahley as its new chef de cuisine. Kahley joins the team with experience from fellow Restaurant Award–winning destinations like Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas and the now-closed Michael Mina in San Francisco. Kahley cites the history

What if that glass of Châteauneuf you’re sipping with dinner is also reducing your chances of contracting COVID-19? A new study analyzed health data on nearly 500,000 U.K. residents and found that subjects who drank one to two glasses of red wine a day had a 10 to 17 percent lower risk of contracting COVID

Sadly, science has yet to deliver on a surefire cure for a head-pounding alcohol-induced hangover, but a recent analysis of past studies has found a sliver of hope. Scientists from King’s College London and South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust analyzed multiple studies of purported hangover treatments, some of which showed promise. Unfortunately,

In the fall of 2020, the grapes in Alison Sokol Blosser’s vineyards were ripe—and she had no one to pick them. Pandemic-related travel restrictions meant that none of her international harvest interns had arrived, and the local labor pool in Oregon’s Yamhill County, where the winery is located, was essentially nonexistent. “We had to get

Anthony Barton, the charismatic owner of second growth Château Léoville-Barton and third growth Château Langoa-Barton, has died. He was 91. “Anthony Barton was the perfect gentleman, always smiling and gracious,” said Jean-Christophe Calvet, co-owner of négociant Aquitaine Wine Company and a longtime friend. “He told hilarious stories about the wine business and he had a

EDITOR’S NOTE: In September 2021, longtime senior editor Kim Marcus, 62, after 33 years with Wine Spectator, made known his wish to retire at the end of the year. Marcus agreed to continue writing for the publication as a contributing editor, and his tasting and managerial duties were reassigned as reported in this story. Sadly,

Wine Spectator is saddened to learn that our long-time colleague Kim Marcus passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, Jan. 11. Marcus, 62, joined Wine Spectator in 1988 and rose to the positions of senior editor, managing editor and Napa bureau chief before he retired in December. He was the lead taster for California Chardonnay and Pinot

A new wine bar is open at Houston’s Post Oak Hotel. Located steps from the property’s Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning Mastro’s Steakhouse, Stella’s Wine Bar serves the same list of more than 4,000 selections, but in a more laid-back environment. “Stella’s is one of the only wine bars in the world where you can drink

Joel Gott Wines has purchased Napa’s historic Edge Hill property from Rudd Estate. The deal includes 25 acres, 6 of which are planted to a red field blend, as well as a retrofitted three-story stone winery built in 1867, existing inventory and the Edge Hill name. The purchase price was not disclosed. “This property is

Merlot to-go could be back on the menu in New York state this year, giving an added revenue source to restaurants during hard times but worries to store owners concerned about competition. During her Jan. 5 State of the State Address, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her support for the permanent legalization of alcohol

Claude Taittinger, who led Taittinger Champagne for nearly five decades, died Jan. 3. He was 94. Known as both a stylish gentleman and a savvy businessman, Taittinger is credited with growing his family’s young Champagne house, investing in a large collection of vineyards while also modernizing the marketing of Champagne as a luxury product. The

It’s increasingly lonely at the pinnacle of the St.-Emilion classification, with Château Pavie the only remaining Premier Grand Cru Classé A. Just six months after Cheval-Blanc and Ausone announced they would leave the Right Bank ranking system, Château Angelus’ co-owner and general manager Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal announced that the estate had withdrawn its application for

Finding quality wines that also offer value is always crucial, especially now as inflation approaches wine shelves. Earlier this week, Wine Spectator named New Zealand winery Allan Scott’s 2021 Sauvignon Blanc its first ever Wine Value of the Year. At $17 a bottle and 93 points, the wine is a steal, but for co-owner and

One of the fastest-growing segments in the wine market isn’t actually wine, at least, not technically. Sales of de-alcoholized wine, aka non-alcoholic wine, rose 43 percent in the first half of 2021, according to Nielsen, making it the second-fastest-growing category of wine last year. Clearly many consumers see these products as a way to moderate

Italy’s Marzotto family, which built Santa Margherita into a Pinot Grigio juggernaut, acquired majority ownership of Roco Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley this week. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the purchase marks the company’s first winemaking venture outside Italy. The sale includes Roco’s winemaking facility just outside Newberg, the Roco brand and current inventory.

While our top videos of 2020 highlighted creative ways to pass the time at home, 2021’s favorites focused more on getting out and about and meeting big names in wine in their element. Whether it was riding along on vineyard visits with winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, talking wine with NBA legend Dwyane Wade or seeing

Before we look ahead to whatever 2022 may bring, Wine Spectator‘s editors would like to remember the wine industry pioneers, innovators, leaders and chroniclers we lost this year, some of them to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year we bid farewell to Steven Spurrier, organizer of the famed 1976 Paris Tasting, as well as Châteauneuf-du-Pape star

Franco Ziliani, the winemaker and revered “founding father” of Northern Italy’s Franciacorta sparkling wine appellation, died of natural causes over the weekend at his home on the shores of the appellation’s Lake Iseo. He was 90. Ziliani’s passing came at a historic milestone, 60 years after making his first groundbreaking vintage of a Champagne-style sparkling