Wine

The young couple in the shorts and festival shirts sped into the ballroom of the New Orleans Marriott on a mission. It was the opening night of Wine Spectator’s 2024 Grand Tour, and 235 of the world’s greatest wineries were pouring wines, all rated 90 points or higher. The pair had come straight from the

Salvestrin Family winemaker Natalie Winkler struck a chord when the 2018 Salvestrin Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon earned a spot among Wine Spectator‘s Top 10 Wines of 2021. But it all started with a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, she tells host James Molesworth in the newest episode of Wine Spectator‘s Straight Talk podcast. Winkler represents

Who’s behind it: Tre Dita and the adjoining Bar Tre Dita are new endeavors from Evan Funke, the chef behind Los Angeles restaurants Felix Trattoria, Funke and Mother Wolf. Funke focuses primarily on Italian culinary traditions, particularly handmade pastas, and is the author of 2019 cookbook American Sfoglino. For the Tuscany-focused Tre Dita, he is

Marco Felluga, who made exquisite white wines that helped put the Collio area of Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region on the global wine map, died April 3. He was 96. “Friuli and the Collio region have suffered a great loss,” said fellow winemaker Silvio Jermann of Jermann winery. Jermann says that Felluga, along with fellow vintners Count

It may be hard to imagine, considering Napa’s moniker as the preeminent luxury wine region in the United States, but it wasn’t that long ago that the valley was a small agricultural area populated with bootstrapping farmers. Today, the valley is renowned for its premium wines and grand estates. Four million tourists visit annually. While

Eleanor “Ellie” Coppola passed away April 12 at the age of 87 in her home in Rutherford, California. Eleanor was a visual artist, author and film director who was married for 61 years to filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Together with her husband, she also helped restore Napa’s legendary Inglenook winery. “Surrounded by creativity and fame,

China’s government has officially abolished punitively high tariffs on imported Australian wine. The Beijing government announced the removal of the duties—which ranged as high as 218 percent—March 29. Australia’s wine industry, which was China’s biggest source of imported wine before the tariffs were enacted in 2020, hopes the reversal will offer new opportunities at a

For years, the NBA has been nicknamed the “Wine League,” but now it’s officially tipping off. The National Basketball Association is embarking on a partnership with California’s Jackson Family Wines establishing Kendall-Jackson as the official wine of the NBA, and K-J’s sister wine La Crema as the official wine of the Women’s National Basketball Association.

Who’s behind it: La Bastide by Andrea Calstier is a new endeavor from chef Andrea Calstier and his wife Elena Oliver, the restaurant’s general manager. It is located above the duo’s Cenadou Bistrot, which opened last year in North Salem, N.Y., in Westchester County. Offering a chef’s table experience, La Bastide features just six tables,

Wine Spectator has learned that famed Napa grapegrower David Abreu and Trinchero Family Estates (TFE) have agreed to partner on a new wine brand in the TFE portfolio using grapes grown from Abreu’s four Napa Valley vineyards. The deal links one of Napa’s top names in vineyards with one of its most respected companies. Abreu

While the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer in the crisis stage globally, many people—including some wine lovers—continue to feel its effects. Anecdotal evidence has indicated a potential link between COVID infection and increased alcohol sensitivity. That sensitivity can cause headaches, severe hangover-like symptoms and other effects, including intoxication at low levels of consumption. Now, new

Winemaker Dan Petroski made news when he sold his boutique California white wine brand Massican to Gallo late last year. But that was just the latest step on a wine journey that started ignominiously as a Columbia University football player and began in earnest a decade later after an eye-opening dinner at Le Bernardin in

Who’s behind it: Finca Wine is a new San Diego wine bar and shop from Dan Valerino and Joe Bower, the former general manager and sous chef, respectively, of Wine Spectator Best of Excellence winner Juniper and Ivy. The duo also operates Bottle Boon, a hospitality management company. Veteran toque Ricardo Dondisch heads Finca Wine’s

Legendary Barolo power couple Luca Currado Vietti and Elena Penna-Currado have begun a new chapter in their winemaking careers, this time with the collaboration of their children, Michele and Giulia. A year after the longtime proprietors of Vietti left that winery, the family has established Cascina Penna-Currado, a small artisanal winery producing Barolo, Barbera, Dolcetto,

While the wine world is full of news of mergers and acquisitions, the latest transaction in California is more of a homecoming. Patz & Hall co-founder James Hall and a small group of investors are buying the winery back eight years after it was sold to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. The sale is the latest

San Sabino is the latest endeavor from the team behind Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner Don Angie, one of the hardest-to-get reservations in New York City. The new restaurant features seafood-focused, Italian American cuisine and an accessible wine list. Open since March 12, San Sabino is next door to Don Angie in Manhattan’s West

Owning an estate in Bordeaux had been the longtime dream of friends Golan Flam of Flam Winery and Eran Pick of Tzora Vineyards, both winemakers in Israel’s Judean Hills region. After five years of hunting, the partners have purchased Château Tour du Haut-Moulin, a cru bourgeois estate in Bordeaux’s Haut-Médoc region on the Left Bank.

Barrels of Burgundy were up for grabs. Encouraged by last year’s impressive sale, Burgundy’s Domaine des Hospices de Nuits-St.-Georges hosted its 63rd barrel auction March 10 using an online, live streaming format. The charity event raised nearly $2.5 million (€2,281,500) for the medical facility. The overall auction total declined by 36 percent compared with 2023,

Thomas Keller is set to open a new restaurant in Palm Beach, Fla. When is still unclear. What we do know is that it will be located at 221 Worth Ave., the former address of the locally beloved restaurant Ta-boo. Based on documents filed by the property owners, we also know that there are plans

Who’s behind it: Orla is the latest Las Vegas restaurant from chef Michael Mina and his Mina Group, the culinary force behind a dozen Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners, including his Bungalow Kitchen in Tiburon, Calif., Estiatorio Ornos in San Francisco and seven Bourbon Steak locations across the United States. Mina is partnering with the