Qué Será, Syrah: How One Grape Speaks the Vernacular of Five Northern Rhône Appellations, Through Ten Producers.

The triumvirate of Côte-Rôtie, Cornas and Hermitage rule the narrow terraces of Northern Rhône indomitably and are responsible for the world’s best Syrahs. They’ve been called ‘unicorn wines’ in that the best of them are rare, and if available, very…

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Posted on 2025.09.04 in Saint-Joseph, Cornas, Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Brézème, Saint-Péray, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Northern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

The Color of Change: From Off-Appellation to Second-Label Standouts, Bordeaux’s Elite Producers Turn to Dry Whites – Quietly Expanding the Region’s Identity Three 3-Bottle Dry White Samplers Sauternais $88 · Médoc $234 · Pessac-Léognan $131

Location, locution, libation: The three cardinal rules of real estate are thus rewritten when Bordeaux turns from red to white, and some back-story is required for a true appreciation of the change. And along with the climate, that story is…

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Posted on 2025.08.23 in France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

Champagne in Three Acts: Vincent Lagille’s Quest for Terroir Clarity Through Single Varietals – With Tension, Timing, and Thoughtful Restraint as His Guides

The quietest revolution Champagne has begun to increase its volume, and the emerging focus on parcel-based wines relying on single varietals to reflect terroir is moving closer to center stage. In a region where blends and house styles has been…

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Posted on 2025.08.08 in Juliénas, France, Beaujolais, Champagne, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

Crossroads of Three Spains: Garnacha Finds Its Voice amid Gredos’ Ancient Granite Terraces as Vanguard Winemakers Lead a Revival

To understand Spanish wine in 2025, you have to keep up with it. Changes—good and less so—are inevitable, and the pace is increasing. Climate change is adding pressure to areas already rain-starved and some older wineries have simply allowed their…

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Posted on 2025.07.29 in La Tierra de Castilla, Spain DO, Wine-Aid Packages, Arribes  |  Read more...

 

The Future of Burgundy Lies in Lesser-Known Areas: Boris Champy Believes Elevation, Vineyard Orientation and Clonal Selection Hold Some of the Answers to Climate Adaptation. * Mixed 5-Pack (3 Red, 2 White) – $389

“The best fertilizer is the winemaker’s shadow.” Nowhere does this aphorism hold truer than in Nantoux, Burgundy, where Boris Champy carries on an endless quest to reveal the soul of each vineyard plot, the spirit of each grape variety and…

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Posted on 2025.07.17 in Côte de Beaune, Pommard, France, Burgundy, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

Burgundy’s Southern Frontier: Beaujolais’s Distinctive Crus, Chiseled Wines, and Domaine de Vernus’ Pursuit of Place and Precision – Six Bottles from the 2022 Vintage ($269)

In literature, a character study is a critical examination of a single character to understand not only their significance to a given narrative, but as a way of better understanding the work as a whole. This week, we will undertake…

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Posted on 2025.07.12 in Regnie, Chenas, Côte-de-Brouilly, Chirouble, Morgon, Cote de Brouilly, Saint-Amour, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Beaujolais-Villages, France, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

The Grammar of Grapes: Jean-François Mérieau’s Wines Embody Touraine’s Diversity While Celebrating Each Grape’s Identity: Accessible Yet Layered, Local Yet Distinct. * Five Bottles, $99 (Three Reds, One White, One Sparkling)

Finding new ways to express old vines is the Eldorado of modern winemaking, and with multiple generations tending the family vineyards, where many of the vines are over one hundred years old, Jean–François Mérieau has had a jump start. A…

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Posted on 2025.07.09 in Touraine, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

Sancerre Sheds Its Clichés: Stéphane Riffault’s Wines Speak in Texture, Tension and the Dialect of Place. * Six-Bottle Set, $249 (Five Whites, One Rosé)

A communion with the soil is the most important relationship a winemaker will ever forge, and nowhere is this demonstrated more reliably than in Sancerre, where three distinct soil types produce a split-personality of wine characteristics. This may be something…

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Posted on 2025.06.26 in Sancerre, Chablis, Petit Chablis, Pouilly-Fumé, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

Provence’s Life Beyond Rosé: Visionary Producers See Potential in the Full Diversity of Southern Grapes and Terroir to Make Magnificent Red and White Wines.

This week’s selection is a trip through sun-kissed, lavender-scented Provence, home to a unique array of southern wines. Though almost exclusively associated with rosé, some of it lackluster, the region is increasingly focusing on quality as the fashion for dry…

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Posted on 2025.06.21 in Les Baux-de-Provence, Bandol, Palette, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Provence  |  Read more...

 

A Burgundy Odyssey for Bloomsday Commomoration (June 16): Grégory and Antoine Gouges Weave a Winedark Tapestry of Seven Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Crus in Nine Packs of NSG Vertical Sets for the Paterfamilias- A Portrait in Youth and Age

Let the nihilists and conspiracy nuts have their doomsday; Bloomsday will remain our most personally significant wine-related holiday. Named in honor of Leopold Bloom, the protagonist and hero of James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece ‘Ulysses’ that follows Bloom’s existential meander through…

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Posted on 2025.06.14 in Nuits-Saint-Georges, France, Burgundy, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

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