Greg Brewer, the winemaker of Melville and Brewer-Clifton, is far more philosophical than most people know.  I had the pleasure of meeting him in early January 2010, and I must say I haven't met many winemakers as on the edge of wine making style, combined with a magical outlook on this wine process that we

Bill Ward, our local full time wine writer (and am I the only one who sees the beauty in that … newspapers around the country are slashing and burning while trying to figure out how to make a buck in this e-world.  Meanwhile, here in the hinterland, we have a full time wine writer that

Check out the legendary Chester Osborne of d'Arenberg winery talking about one of his flagship wines, the 2005 Dead Arm Shiraz. Filed under: Australia, Videos

This begins a series of short posts following Annette Peters on a journey through France to find new gems for World Class Wines.  She's forwarding info via text messages, choosing (wisely) to forgo the laptop computer. January 30th: "aaah, Paris.  The smell of stale cigs, scarves tossed over shoulders, unmistakable CDG tubes, delicate lingerie clad...

A recent visit to Adam Tomlach and his (two person) staff at Ojai Vineyards revealed one clear truth: for some people the pleasure is in the details and the discussion.  One such person is Adam. He's been put in the upper echelon of winemakers by some of the most notable wine writers in the world, but

This post by Annette Peters refers to a wine she discovered for World Class Wines a bit under two years ago, called "Les Ruffes" by the producer La Sauvageonne.  To our great delight, that wine was featured in Wine Spectator's Top 100 list last year (link here), even though it was only available in two

Import director Annette Peters filed this final report from her Languedoc whirlwind.  She arrives back in the states tomorrow. —————– MORE NOTES FROM FRANCE MONDAY  in Saint Chinian After a good night’s sleep  I am off to taste Saint Chinian. We drive north of Beziers to the town of Saint Chinian,  There are thre...

Two years ago I attended a French Trade tasting in Chicago and was introduced to several new Champagne producers but one of the standouts was Champagne Ayala. The Brut Majeur which is the real value of the line-up is a dryer style NV Brut with only 9 grams of sugar (some cuvees have as much as

Tour de Farm visited the Walker Art Center, and the wine and dinner was fantastic.  Living in Minnesota encourages appreciation of the bounty when it arrives, and this even amplified the emotions. The wines from the evening, with notes by Annette Peters: Baumann Cotes de Gascogne Blanc from Gascony France– this refreshing summer quaffer is a blend...

World Class Wines, as wine contributor to TOUR DE FARM,  is very pleased to share selections that come from our portfolio of family producers for the first Tour de Farm dinner of 2009.  We picked these growers because they embrace the philosophy of naturally made, hand-crafted wines from vineyards that proudly leave a legacy for

Provence can be a spooky and unfriendly place in the winter. Winding around on narrow tree-lined roads, over treacherous bridges and aqueducts, dodging the debris kicked up by the   notorious mistral winds, its hardly the sunny place depicted by   Peter Mayle.  It was dark by the time I arrived at the manor house of Patrick

We have met the new king of cool, and his name is Shane Finley. He's in a position in life where he could easily swagger in with attitude.   As the associate winemaker at Kosta Browne, one of the hottest wines of the last five years, we would understand at least a little bit of pretention.  He's

A smattering of ideas for you to chew on.  After my last post I felt a need to balance the scales a bit. I've had three great restaurant experiences in the last ten days, and there were some consistent reasons.  Some of these may not be applicable to your establishment, but I think a bit of

It's February 2009. We're in an economic slump the likes of which is scaring many people. Last weekend was Valentine's Day, and I'm happy to report that many restaurants were full and did several turns. In other words, they got a little (much needed) money in the bank. Last night my wife and

Many of you have read Frank Bruni's wonderful article in this week's New York Times regarding the current state of restaurant business in NYC.  Besides wondering how they got the big three to pose for the photo, I was wondering what stones have been left unturned in the quest for customers at restaurants.  My thought

We're proud to announce World Class Wines has teamed with the legendary wines of Boisset America! These are dynamic additions to our portfolio, and will help to round out our American and French selections. Bouchard has a stellar reputation as one of the top ‘major' producers of Burgundy. Louis Bernard brings us value oriented...

Anyone who is a wine lover usually learns early in life that Thanksgiving is not a time to share your cellar's treasures. Oh sure, these are the friends and family, that you would donate your kidneys to, but let's say you've selected one of your slumbering babies, carefully cradled it to the table,  announce the

In yesterday's New York Times, Eric Asimov wrote a wonderful article with the pointed opening line, "Arguments and disagreements rage over styles, tastes and preferences, but I think everybody can agree on one thing about wine: The less spent, the better." Amen, Eric!  When the economy is dancing around like a fresh caught crappie, it's more...

This has been a tough year … first Robert Mondavi, then Sergio Zenato, and now Didier Dagueneau. Mr. Dagueneau was killed in a plane crash yesterday in southwestern France.  This was a man who put his personal style first and foremost, and invited the critics to crush him if they wish.  They returned his offer with