Have you ever wanted to tour Tuscan wineries, visit cultural sites, all while staying in 4-star hotels? Well, who hasn't right? But this spring, you can have the chance to do all of this–with me! I have organized two consecutive one-week tours. The groups are small but some spots have recently become available (4 on […] The post Travel ...

The 2022 wine harvest is underway! I've been reposting some winery photos and videos over on my Instagram account as stories. This wine harvest incredibly early: mid-August for some grapes in Northern California, the third week in August for Champagne (incredible for one of the most northerly wine regions), and some pinot nero in Piemonte. […...

I've been leading a ton of Zoom tastings during this quarantine period–a Zoom boom, if you will. We had this pair with a group recently and they really hit the ball out of the park: Pierre Peters, "Cuve de Rserve," Champagne and the 2019 ros from Domaine du Bagnol in Cassis. (Find these wines at […] The post Pierre Peters and Domaine du...

Tariffs of 100% may soon hit European wines in America. The price of some wines will double. But mostly it will mean that many of the most coveted wines will no longer be available. The comment period ends today at midnight over at the site of the United States Trade Representative. Fully 24,071 people have […] The post Wine tariff comment pe...

Another day, another wine tariff post… Last week, news trickled out that the US Trade Representative might raise the tariff on European wine to 100%. Oh, and the tariff on 31-pages of other items. Unsatisfied with progress in the aircraft dispute with Airbus, which was the cause of the 25% tariff imposed on some European […] The post Eu...

Late yesterday, the US Trade Representative unsheathed a champagne saber. But it wasn't for sabering champagne in celebration; rather, it was for dealing it a blow by threatening tariffs of 100%. French sparkling wine (not still wine) as well as cheese, handbags, makeup and enamelware would be affected. (See the whole list here.) While that […...

"Wine is geography in a glass," Hugh Johnson said recently. He and Jancis Robinson were in town to promote the new edition of the World Atlas of Wine. He said that back in 1970, the publisher was unsure if a book of wine maps would really fly. So he had to impress upon the publisher […] The post Wine maps are all the rage appeared first on Dr...

The Kincade fire has already burned 54,000 acres in Sonoma County, roughly the size of the area also under vine. There have been mandated evacuations of 180,000 residents and the 3,400 first responders have it only 5% contained. Strong winds have blowing sparks and embers huge distances but the winds are moderating. The governor has […] The p...

For those looking to explain the oddities of the recent tariffs on French wine, a clue may have come last week in Texas. But first, those oddities. It is not really going out on a limb to say that this administration has a haphazard, govern-by-tweet style of policymaking. So it should not be a surprise […] The post How did champagne dodge the...

Our post about the 25% tariff that will be imposed on the $.2.5 billion of wines imported from France, Spain and Germany as of October 18 raised some questions. We respond: Rick: How do you suppose this will affect futures orders that are in place? Dr. Vino: They will be hit by the 25% levy […] The post Questions on French wine tariffs! appea...

The trade war gets real! As if tariffs on hundreds of billions of consumer goods made in China weren't real enough, the latest escalation from the Trump administration has found a new target: French wine. Late yesterday, word came down that the Trump administration will impose $7.5 billion in tariffs on goods from our European […] The post Tr...

One winery I wanted to be sure to visit when I was in Champagne last month was Pierre Pters. I have always tremendously enjoyed the racy wines in the US and Rodolphe Pters not only commands a lot of respect in the wine world for his Champagnes but I had heard he had a new […] The post Pierre Peters champagne with Rodolphe Peters appeared firs...

Spain makes a lot of wine. Overall, it's the third biggest producer in the world. One problem the country has is that many of the country's wines sell at low prices–don't get me wrong, there are certainly some pricey ones too. Another problem is that as wine enthusiasts and producers around the world rejoice in […] The post Exciting tim...

On the sidelines of her NY distributor's recent tasting, I grabbed a quick three minutes with the supremely lovely Evelyne de Pontbriand. She is the third consecutive woman in her family to run the estate Domaine du Closel located at the Chateau des Vaults in the Loire region of Savennires. Aging Savennires: underrated or overrated? […] The p...

On Wednesday, the eyes of wine geeks and those in the wine industry will turn to the the Supreme Court. Wine will be on the docket, and, as you might expect, reds and whites do not map on to a political right and left. A love of wine is non-partisan even though no justice has […] The post Wine spills onto the docket at the Supreme Court appea...

My good friend, chef Tim Labant, and I have ridden probably 15,000 miles together on our bikes the past few years. We've had some epic adventures. Tim is the chef/owner of Schoolhouse at Cannondale, a new American spot in Wilton that celebrated its eleventh anniversary this past spring. About three years ago, Tim decided he […] The post Sling...

The Reboule du Rhone is back for a second edition! The event last year feted winemakers and wines from the Northern Rhone with dinners and tastings, raising over $300,000 for the charity No Kid Hungry. Above is a quick montage of scenes from last year. This year's encore edition will include a series of singular […] The post Reboule du Rhone,...

Sotheby's released a glossy report on their 2017 wine auction year today: the house racked up $63.8 million at 21 auctions in London, New York, and Hong Kong. That was good enough for third on the list of 2017 wine auction houses–in all, the global wine auction market rose 12.7% to $381 million last year […] The post 2017 wine auction m...

Last night's state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte was the first of Donald Trump's term. Would the current occupant of the White House shatter wine protocols at state dinners? Would the teetotaler whose name adorns a Virginia winery serve his own wine? The White House has a tradition […] The post Trum...

American wine has just gotten a dubious distinction: it features on a list of 128 items that may be subject to new Chinese tariffs. (spelling tip: tariffs ends in "FFS"!) Saber rattling in trade between the US and China is escalating. The Trump administration announced $50 billion in tariffs on Wednesday and China responded yesterday […] The ...

About five years ago, Dustin Wilson became the wine director at Eleven Madison Park and Thomas Pastuszak became the wine director at NoMad. At a similar point in their careers at restaurants in the same group, the two bonded over their many shared interests, one of which was a love of the wines of the […] The post Reboule du Rhone appeared fi...

The wine country fires caused a lot of damage, that we know. But as the fires come under control and some residents return to their greatly altered lives after mandatory evacuations, we are starting to get a handle on the extent of what happened. Here is a sad list of 22 wineries damaged by the […] The post Helping the wildfire recovery appea...

On Sunday night, a fire got out of control somewhere north of the Bay. Seasonally dry conditions had left the area like a tinderbox. So when whipping winds of up to 70 mph hit the initial flames, they spread, well, like wildfire. Tragically, the blaze has now prompted the evacuation of 20,000 people, burned over […] The post Fires savage Napa...

Climate change is a bitch. Severe weather events have roiled wine growing areas with depressing regularity in recent years. Burgundy seems to be on the forefront of this plagued by floods, hail storms, late frosts and other events that have reduced (or in some places even eliminated) the crop. Jeremy Seysses, owner and winemaker at […] The po...

The Golden State Warriors won their second NBA title in three seasons last night. As a hoops fan, the most impressive stat for me was 147 assists on 216 made baskets–teamwork! But as a wine geek, we here at the Dr. Vino World Headquarters had to wonder…what would the team pop to celebrate in the […] The post Warriors toast NBA tit...

Wine drip stains on white tablecloths have a new nemesis and his name is Daniel Perlman. The biophysicist at Brandeis University discovered that all it took to eliminate the bane of (red) wine pourers everywhere is to etch a small groove at the top of the bottle under the lip. We can but hope this […] The post Behold the drip-free wine bottle...

The French presidential election is heating up. Polls show Emmanuel Macron defeating Marine Le Pen in the decisive second round on May 7 by 62-38 (yes, polls have been deceiving ahead of recent elections but this is a big margin). We are single-issue voters around here and that issue is wine! Actually, that's not true […] The post Vote Emmanu...

How about some wine classes to shake off the winter blues (wait, what winter? It's 70 degrees!)? I've been doing a series of wine classes at Schoolhouse at Cannondale, a new American restaurant in Wilton, CT. Chef/owner Tim LaBant–friend of the blog–has been running some cooking classes and I've been doing some wine classes on […]...

Economic policy has about as much clarity as a tank of Puligny after batonnage right now. There’s some reasonable certainty about various reforms (ahem, tax cuts) but one area that is shrouded in mystery: how imports will be taxed. Trump made trade a big issue in the campaign and has continued in the same vein, […] The post Wine import tax: M...

Apparently there's a real rivalry among airlines for first class wine service–although you'd never guess it in the back of the bus where the wine selections are generally bad enough to drive a wine to beer. A piece in Bloomberg details how Emirates has splashed out over $40 million a year on wine for the […] The post Wine on the wing: E...

"Winery X, in family for generations, sold to billionaire" is a headline that would normally barely raise an eyebrow. But the winery in today's news is Clos Rougeard from the Loire. Located in Saumur, Clos Rougeard is the Bentley of the Loire. The wines, almost all red, are expensive, rare and of exceptional quality–the kind […] The pos...

Sour Grapes recently went live on Netflix. Has Netflix recommended it to you yet? If not, you're clearly not watching the right shows! After speaking with one of the directors and seeing the trailer, I was ready to fire up the documentary when I saw it was available. Sour Grapes tells the story of Rudy […] The post Sour Grapes – wine fr...

Coravin, the company formerly known as Wine Mosquito, has raised another $22 million in private equity funding. That brings the total equity sold to $40 million (plus another $3 million in debt). The lead investor of this round, closed on November 8, was not publicly disclosed. Neither were company revenues. Nor was the valuation. The […] The...

Daniel Johnnes may be the closest thing the American wine world has to Burgundy royalty. Yesterday he announced that he has joined Grand Cru Selections, an importer and wholesaler based in New York City, as a partner. It's a big move. "This is an opportunity to be a partner in a young and dynamic company […] The post Daniel Johnnes, Burgundy ...

Sour Grapes, a new documentary about wine fraud, is being released on Netflix next month. The movie centers on the case of convicted wine counterfeiter Rudy Kurniawan. In fact, the film's two directors, Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas, met at Kurniawan's trial in Manhattan where they had ventured separately, each with an eye to making […] The...

Charles Banks, a former owner of Screaming Eagle whose current wine and hospitality holdings have been pegged at $200 million, was indicted in federal court today on two counts of fraud. Banks is accused of defrauding Tim Duncan, the NBA legend, of $20 million in investments. Yahoo sports has the story: The indictment was unsealed […] The pos...

Vietti, the Barolo winery founded in 1893 and known for its single-vineyard wines, has been sold to the American Kyle J. Krause. According to Wine Spectator, the sale includes the winery in Barolo's Castiglione Falleto, the brand and 84 acres of vineyards. Luca Currado, enologist and current head of the winery, will be staying on […] The post...

Tumult (anarchy?) is the current state of the main political parties in Britain after the Brexit referendum. Will the vote to exit the EU leave the British wine trade in any better shape than the political parties? By way of background, the UK was, pre-Brexit vote, one of the bright stars in the wine world. […] The post Brexit and wine appear...

Billionaire and famed wine collector Bill Koch's wine cellar is up for auction at Sotheby's in a three-day sale happening now. Koch is selling about 20,000 bottles with an estimated range of $10-$15 million. But don't worry, he'll still have plenty to drink since he's only selling about half his famed collection. I attended the […] The post B...

April frosts bring May floods? Weather at harvest used to be dicey with rains. But now severe and unusual weather events are buffeting the Burgundy region throughout the growing season with shocking and disheartening regularity. Devastating hail storms pounded vintages 2012, 2013, and 2014. Last month, there was some bitterly cold weather overnight...

Copain winery has been sold to Jackson Family Wines for an undisclosed sum the wineries announced today. Copain has taken twists and turns to end up at the winery perched above the Russian River Valley floor. Co-founded in 1999 by Wells Guthrie as winemaker, Guthrie started making full-throttle wines and received high scores from point-wielding [&#...

Tonight at the White House, President and Michelle Obama will welcome not one Nordic leader–but all five! What will they be drinking out of horned helmets in the viking style? Actually, it will be out of crystal glasses but we have the deets for you on the Nordic state dinner wines. The dinner will honor […] The post State dinner wines ...

Algorithms: 1. Humans: 0. So it will be in the wine aisle when the new 365 store by Whole Foods opens in two weeks. The store aims to target millennials by delivering foods in the Whole Foods ethos but with out the Whole Foods price tag (insert your own Whole Paycheck comment here). There will […] The post Our robot overlords: Whole Foods sto...

As of yesterday, the world has a new "best sommelier"! The winner of the 2016 ASI World's Best Sommelier competition in Argentina is Arvid Rosengren! Rosengren is the popular sommelier at Charlie Bird in NYC. Although he lives in SoHo now, he studied nanotech engineering in his native Sweden before switching to hospitality school and […] The ...

Word came out today that Constellation wines is buying The Prisoner wine(s) for a whopping $285 million. The seller was Augustin Huneeus who bought The Prisoner wine for $40 million in 2010. And who said there's no money in wine? The Prisoner wine was started in 1998 by Orrin Swift and Dave Phinney as heady […] The post Who's taking Constella...

Michel Rolland, the consultant wine maker based in Pomerol, really likes the 2015 Bordeaux vintage, which is currently being shown off en primeur in Bordeaux. When a journalist asked him if the vintage was an antidote to "Bordeaux bashing" it set him off. Here is his rant (my translation): ?There?s no antidote for stupidity. And […] The post ...

I had fun the other day when a new channel from Canada called. The reporter asked me which wines I would serve for tomorrow's state dinner at the White House in honor of PM Justin Trudeau, the first state visit of a Canadian prime minister in 20 years. Without knowing the menu, I recorded a […] The post State dinner wines for Justin Trudeau a...

This is a bright, cheery pinot noir with lots of varietal character. You won't mistake it for a Pommard, but that misses the point: This is a lovely value wine that is better than 99% of domestic pinot noirs under $15. Pinot under $15 (nay, $20!) is a tough category but this one comports itself […] The post Value vino: Les Hexagonales, pinot ...