Bernard Defaix: A tour of Chablis’ Left Bank
By Josh Shapiro
The hierarchy of Chablis is beautifully logical. When a producer gets it right, you can literally taste your way up the ladder, feeling the terroir shift and the intensity build...
SF Local Blog: Wine & Spirits Stories, Events, Offers and more
-
Brovia's Nebbiolo Gets a Major Upgrade (And the 96-point Barolo's Not Bad Either)
By Floribeth Kennedy
That was ten years ago and since then Brovia has only gotten better and better under the 4th generation leadership of Elena Brovia and her husband, Alex Sanchez. You can...
Read more -
Montbourgeau Cremant de Jura: No Need to Pay for Hipster Champagne
By Daniel Kihara
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...
Read more -
Scarpa: Freshness and Seriousness Combined
By Daniel Kihara
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...
Read more -
Hanzell Chardonnay: History in the Bottle from Moon Mountain
By Daniel Kihara
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...
Read more -
Danjean-Berthoux: White Burgundy from the Edges
By Daniel Kihara
If you drive a few minutes west of Givry into the rolling hills of the Côte Chalonnaise, you’ll find yourself in the tiny, sleepy village of Jambles. This is the...
Read more -
L’Efecte Volador: A Very Non-Financial Wine
By Daniel Kihara
Josep Grau spent nearly twenty years in the high-frequency world of Barcelona finance before he realized he was looking for something that numbers couldn't provide. In 2003, he walked away...
Read more -
A&E Verset: A New Chapter in Cornas
By Daniel Kihara
In the tightly knit world of Cornas, the name Verset carries a weight almost heavier than the granite soils themselves. For decades, Noël Verset was the benchmark, the genius who...
Read more -
Peter Lauer: Exploring the Saar in the Vintage that Should Not have Been
By Daniel Kihara
We previously described Peter Lauer's Barrel X as a pantry staple—something you should just have on hand for daily life. But life does not end with staples. While the Barrel...
Read more -
Pertimali: Brunello for Everyone
By Daniel Kihara
There is a famous quote from Robert Parker that has followed this estate for decades. He famously declared that if he were forced to drink only one Brunello di Montalcino...
Read more -
Yves Martin: Chavignol Sancerre for Drinking and Cellaring
By Daniel Kihara
The Sancerre appellation is vast and variable. It produces everything from light, grassy bistro wines to serious, structured whites. Like Burgundy, where some villages and sites are clearly superior to...
Read more -
Jaugaret: The Time Machine in St. Julien
By Josh Shapiro
Visiting Domaine du Jaugaret is like stepping into a time machine. While neighbors like Ducru-Beaucaillou and Léoville-Poyferré operate out of gleaming, architect-designed facilities that resemble luxury hotels, Jaugaret remains a...
Read more -
The patience of a master: new wine and olive oil releases from Quintarelli
By Daniel Kihara
The wines we write about almost every year. Giuseppi Quintarelli was one of the greats of Italian winemaking. He was an incredible steward of Veneto's ancient traditions; his Amarones are as old...
Read more -
Gamet Champagne: Grower Unity on the Marne
By Daniel Kihara
In the Vallée de la Marne, the river cuts a deep dividing line. On the Right Bank (Fleury-la-Rivière), the soils are clay-heavy and cold, producing Pinot Meunier with bite and...
Read more
