Wine

Fred Franzia, co-founder of Bronco Wine Company and the man known for turning Charles Shaw, aka “Two Buck Chuck,” into a nationwide phenomenon, has died at age 79. “Bronco Wine Company is truly saddened by the passing of its founder and CEO, Fred Franzia,” read a statemenet issued by the company. According to a letter to

Washington State’s wine community is grappling with the loss of respected winemaker Ross Andrew Mickel. The 47-year-old, along with his wife and young son, were among 10 people who were lost on Sept. 4 when a seaplane crashed near Whidbey Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound, just north of Seattle. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended

It looks like Jean-Georges Vongerichten isn’t ready to stop growing his global restaurant empire. Fresh from opening his latest project in lower Manhattan, the dining/retail destination Tin Building, the France-born, New York-based chef and restaurateur announced in August that he would open a restaurant in L&L Holding Company’s new 47-story office building at 425 Park

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates has acquired Oregon’s fast-growing A to Z Wineworks brand, as well as its sister label, Rex Hill, Wine Spectator has learned. Already the largest producer in Washington state, Ste. Michelle (SMWE) now has a dominant footprint in Oregon as well. The purchase, when combined with SMWE’s existing Oregon winery, Erath, brings

Louis-Fabrice Latour, president of Maison Louis Latour, one of Burgundy’s most prominent and historic wine producers, died Sept. 5 of cancer. He was 58. “He will be missed tremendously by all the Burgundians in general and especially by those, like me, who have been his friend,” said Pierre-Henry Gagey, president of Maison Louis Jadot. “Louis-Fabrice

Eight years after it was discovered in the United States in a pile of rocks intended for landscaping in a backyard garden in Pennsylvania, the spotted lanternfly, a moth-like insect from southern China, has spread to 12 additional states. That has vintners in the Eastern U.S. dealing with damage to vines and looking for a

Auction of Washington Wines (AWW) celebrated its 35th year by raising $4 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Washington State University Viticulture and Enology program and industry grant partner Vital Wines, which is “dedicated to ensuring vineyard and winery workers are recognized, valued, and have access to healthcare and other important resources.” After going virtual

Located in New York’s Greenwich Village, the One Fifth Avenue skyscraper has been home to several memorable Manhattan restaurants, starting with the original One Fifth, a destination for both the building’s co-op residents and local and visiting celebrities. (Keith and Brian McNally worked there before becoming famous restaurateurs in their own right.) Later, there was

On the afternoon of Aug. 14, a violent storm and small tornado hit the French town of Bédarrides, with 120 mph wind gusts and large hailstones inflicting damage in vineyards along the eastern side of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. According to reports from local vignerons, the primary impact was felt in La Crau, the famed vineyard on a

The 24th annual V Foundation Wine Celebration brought over 450 wine lovers to Nickel & Nickel winery in Oakville, Calif., on Aug. 6 and raised nearly $6.5 million for cancer research. The auction was one of several events in a weekend celebrating the legacy of Jim Valvano, the basketball player, coach and ESPN broadcaster known

The Russian River Valley and Joe Rochioli Jr. are inseparably connected. Raised on his family’s farm on Westside Road in Healdsburg, Rochioli never left, save for college and the Army. He was the patriarch of the region, an integral citizen of the city of Healdsburg, and a proud, hardworking farmer who helped earn the Russian

André Hugel, a former leader at Famille Hugel winery in France’s Alsace region, passed away Aug. 15 from complications due to COVID. He was 92. Part of the 11th generation of the Hugel family, a name synonymous with Alsace wine, André will be remembered as a proud champion of his region’s culture and defender of

Weekend packages for Wine Spectator‘s 41st annual New York Wine Experience have sold out, but wine lovers interested in attending the three-day series of seminars and walk-around tastings can now sign up for the waiting list. Limited individual tickets for the Wine Experience’s two evening Grand Tastings, featuring more than 200 of the world’s best

In 2002, long before José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen and became one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved chefs, he opened a Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C., called Zaytinya. Now, Zaytinya has come to New York City, where it opened in July inside the new Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad—one of several recent dining

Wine Spectator is pleased to announce the promotion of Mitch Frank to senior editor. Frank joined Wine Spectator as associate editor in 2005 and in his current position as news editor he is in charge of reporting breaking news for both print and digital. In this role, Frank delivers timely news on wine as it

Festival Napa Valley’s 16th season presented an artistically diverse range of concerts and raised over $3.9 million at the Arts for All Gala. Held at the Nickel & Nickel winery in Oakville on July 17 and headlined by country music star (and wine lover) Trisha Yearwood, this year’s gala auction set a new high mark

Count Lucio Tasca d’Almerita, a leader of Sicily’s wine renaissance who helped to bring the island’s wines to the world stage at his family winery Tasca d’Almerita, died July 25. He was 82. “Lucio Tasca d’Almerita was one of the main protagonists of Sicilian and Italian viticulture,” said Antonio Rallo, CEO of his family’s Donnafugata

An ambitious new study has prompted a flurry of sensational headlines suggesting that people under 40 should avoid alcohol entirely, while people over 40 may benefit from modest alcohol consumption. But the research, which examined health data for 30 years from multiple nations, presents a complex picture: On one hand, the researchers found that people

Víctor Urrutia has been closely following the wildfires raging across different parts of Spain this summer. He has to—he’s the co-owner, with his sister María, of estates in five Spanish wine regions, including the historic CVNE (Compania Vinicola del Norte de España) winery in Rioja. As Europe has experienced one of its hottest summers on

AXA Millésimes, the wine subsidiary of French insurance company AXA, has purchased Platt Vineyard from Russian River Partners, a vineyard investment fund managed by Eric Flanagan of Flanagan Wines in Healdsburg. The 38-acre vineyard is located in the Sonoma Coast wine region near the town of Freestone. The price was not disclosed, but permits are