Chances are, when you’ve ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant, the server presented you with the cork. What should happen next is a source of some confusion and disagreement. Tradition has held that you should inspect the cork. Indeed, there are two things you should look for. The first is that the cork, [Read More…]

After the turbulent 2017 harvest, Napa vintners would have been happy with a simply quieter 2018. Instead, this year delivered an ideal growing season, followed by a long, slow-paced harvest. Winemakers are excited by the potential quality of the young wines. Welcome to Wine Spectator‘s 2018 Wine Harvest Report, our coverage of Northern Hemisphere wine [Read More…]

Petit Verdot is a supporting actor in many top Bordeaux red blends on the Left Bank and, even in small quantities, can make a big difference to the finished wine, according to its proponents. Long way from home? Petit Verdot grapes at Corvus Cellars in Washington State’s Walla Walla area. It’s rare to see a [Read More…]

Decanter’s tastings team highlight their top wines from volcanic terroirs, with an introduction by Andy Howard MW… Tenuta delle Terre Nere’s Calderara Sottana vineyard on the northern slope of Mt Etna in Sicily. The raw, destructive power of a volcano might not usually be associated with the production of distinctive, high-quality wines, but volcanic soils [Read More…]

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter 2018 highlights The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter was held at the Landmark Hotel on the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of November 2018. See photo highlights of the day below, or our live social media feed here.   Thanks to all of the producers and partners who helped to make [Read More…]

Thousands of hectares of ‘prime’ English vineyard sites have been identified by a University of East Anglia team investigating the UK wine industry’s resilience to climate change. Mersea Island Vineyard in Essex, an area of the country that is under-planted, according to a UEA study. Researchers said Friday (9 November) they had identified 33,700 hectares [Read More…]

Andrew Jefford tastes mature wines from this puzzling Grand Cru… Echézeaux grand cru vineyards. At the beginning of September 2018, a group of scholarly Hong Kong burgundy collectors invited me to join them in tasting and drinking a group of 10 mature Echézeaux (1990-1999, with one 2004).  Did a profile of this shadowy cluster of [Read More…]

It’s the time of year when many of us wine lovers begin to consider our Port selection ahead of the festive celebrations. Below, you can find Richard Mayson’s full report on a re-tasting of the ‘landmark’ 1994 Port vintage, including the top wines. Originally published in Decanter magazine’s January 2015 issue and now available to [Read More…]

What makes this a wine legend…? Wine Legend: Louis Roederer, Cristal 1959 Bottles produced: N/A Composition 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay Alcohol: 12% Release price: N/A Price today: £2,400 A legend because…   See more Wine Legends Future Wine Legends: Decanter’s 100-point wines The post Wine Legend: Louis Roederer, Cristal 1959 appeared first on Decanter. [Read More…]

Courtesy Will Lee, partner and beverage director, Grey Ghost Detroit Will Lee, partner and beverage director at Grey Ghost Detroit, designed this cocktail for cold days. Its name, A Farewell to Arms, comes not so much from Hemingway, as the summertime expression, “sun’s out, guns out.” Smoked Whiskey Campfire Cocktail “It’s time to put the [Read More…]

How do you tone down the tannins in the winery for an early-drinking style…? What can be done in the winery to reduce the tannins? Toning down the tannins – Ask Decanter Toby Graham, by email, asks: I work in wine retail in Australia and am often asked about wines produced in an early-drinking style [Read More…]

With its mountain vineyards and long winemaking history, this large appellation is now home to experimental producers who are leading a Rhône revolution. Matt Walls takes us on a tour… Mont Ventoux in the distance. At the end of a meal with wine-loving friends, do you ever play that game? You know: ‘If you could [Read More…]

Grown in the Iberian Peninsula since 1100 B.C., Tempranillo is not only the backbone to Spain’s many notable red wines, but one of the country’s most famous grapes. Its name comes from the Spanish word temprano meaning early, which is fitting because this grape often ripens before others. Typically medium-to-full in body and structured by [Read More…]

Today the options for touring and tasting Sonoma County wine country are a burgeoning lot: you can do traditional walk-in tastings, sit-down seminars at a well-staffed hospitality center, and wine parings with chef-prepared gourmet nibbles. The flip side of the popularity of wine tasting is that it’s often difficult to find the winemakers themselves, hosting [Read More…]

At one point in Carla Hall’s life, she was afraid to be labeled as a certain type of chef. Growing up in Tennessee, the Emmy-winning TV co-host, two-time Top Chef competitor and former model developed a love of soul food, which embodies “the stories of her heritage.” But Hall strayed from being associated with the [Read More…]

Explore the increasingly sophisticated food and drink scene in this vibrant and cosmopolitan city at the mouth of the Yangtze river. Ahead of Decanter’s Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter, see Ian Dai’s tops tips on the best restaurants and bars to visit… The best places to dine in Shanghai. Top Shanghai bars and restaurants Le Verre à [Read More…]

Jane Anson picks out several Bordeaux 2016 wines from the Right and Left Banks, including Cru Bourgeois estates, that have the potential to offer particularly good value – after re-tasting the vintage in the bottle. Sommeliers pour Bordeaux 2016 barrel samples for tasting at the UGC’s Hangar 14 venue. Introduction by Eleanor Douglas. ‘Does 2016 [Read More…]

What’s better than getting a bite-size piece of bad chocolate every night? Opening one of these Advent calendars and getting a delicious drink instead. Each is packed with either 12 or 24 bottles of wine, beer and spirits, making them the perfect gift for loved ones—or yourself. Vinebox Advent calendar Vinebox, $129 Surprising loved ones [Read More…]

In March, when German Henkell & Co. Group bought the controlling stake of Cava producer Freixenet they became the world’s largest sparkling wine group. This giant now has an 8% share of the global sparkling wine market and combined revenues of $1.25 billion (EUR 1.1 billion). Henkell produces Sekt, Cava, Crémant and Champagne. The company [Read More…]

One could argue that the New Hampshire wine industry has a justifiable chip on its shoulder. The small, New England state is home to more than 25 wineries that grow not only a wide selection of cold-climate grapes, but also produce unique and interesting fruit wines and meads. Wineries here are known to go above [Read More…]

In Malmö, Sweden, people are lining up to peep at bull testicles, get a whiff of Thailand’s notoriously stinky durian fruit and even try a bite of surströmming, the local fermented herring. No, it’s not an audition for Fear Factor: Chef’s Table; it’s part of a new (and straightforwardly named) pop-up exhibition, the Disgusting Food [Read More…]

The Restaurant at NoMad Las Vegas Opens Next Week After its hotel and bar opened last month, NoMad Las Vegas will debut its restaurant Nov. 14. The NoMad Hotel, a collaboration between restaurateur Will Guidara, chef Daniel Humm’s Make It Nice Hospitality Group and the Sydell Group, has two other locations with Wine Spectator Best [Read More…]

Champagne house Ruinart has launched the latest vintage of its flagship Dom Ruinart, 2007… Dom Ruinart 2007. Dom Ruinart 2007 is a 100% Chardonnay from grand cru vineyards, in keeping with tradition for the cuvée. Its typical style is one of exhilarating stony liveliness that comes from great Chardonnay; intense, pure and structured. The hint [Read More…]

A 16th century French château that looks like something out of a Disney film and has an estate equal to the size of central Paris is to start producing its first wines for 200 years. Château de Chambord is listed by UNESCO. It’s hard to accurately convey the scale of Château de Chambord. Taken with [Read More…]

Recently chosen by Angelo Gaja to be their Sicilian partner, Stephen Brook has tasted four vintages of this leading Etna producer, during the Taormina Gourmet festival in October 2018… Wines maturing in cask in Graci’s cellar. With his dark curly hair and penetrating eyes, Alberto Graci still seems exceptionally young to have been a pioneer [Read More…]

Most of the world’s fine wine, like Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay, derives from European grape varieties, all of which come from the species Vitis vinifera. Starting in the 1870s, Thomas Volney Munson, a Texas viticulturist, identified 31 undiscovered grape species, all but three indigenous to the U.S. Two of the best known are Vitis [Read More…]

Contributing Editor Nils Bernstein speaks with winemakers from New York, Michigan and England on how their wines and winemaking overall is being influenced by global warming. ?? Brought to you by Blue Apron, which made home-cooking cool again, now has an even better reason to stay in: Incredible wines! Save $25 on your first six-bottle [Read More…]