Flatiron Wines & Spirits SF

In a fair world, Nicole Deriaux's sparkling wine would be discussed in the same breath as the great grower Champagnes. But in the real world, her address is the Jura rather than the Marne, which happily keeps her remarkable Crémant an under-the-radar gem at a fraction of the price. She produces it from her own vines in the tiny village of l'Étoile, a place whose name literally translates to "the star." Local legend says the village earned this title either from the five hills that surround it, or the tiny, star-shaped marine fossils scattered throughout its vineyards.

In the historic town of Nizza Monferrato, Antica Casa Vinicola Scarpa has long stood as a bastion of unyielding tradition. While many producers in the region spent the 1990s and 2000s chasing darker colors and softer tannins through the use of new French barriques and other techniques, Scarpa refused to change. Walking into their cellar feels like stepping back in time; it is a place where large, neutral oak casks dominate and where patience is the primary tool of the winemaker. This steadfast dedication has preserved the style of Piedmontese wine that we admire most: nervy, elegant, and built for the long haul.

Sometimes we forget that before the judgement of Paris, before the cult Cabernets of Napa, and before the modern California wine boom, there was Hanzell. Founded in 1953 by Ambassador James Zellerbach after a transformative stint in Europe, this estate was built with a singular, audacious goal: to produce Burgundian-style wines on the slopes of Sonoma that could rival the finest Grand Crus of the Côte d'Or. Walking through the vineyard today, you are walking through living history, past the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vines in the Western Hemisphere.