Sancerre: Say It With Feeling - April, 2009

by Eric Asimov

Good Wine, drink it!

Wild yeast, natural wine - October, 2009

by By W. Blake Gray

Another fine natural California winery is Lioco, founded by wine importer Matt Licklider and Kevin O'Connor, former wine director at Spago Beverly Hills. Lioco uses only wild yeast but defines natural wine differently from Donkey & Goat -- for example, all its Chardonnays are fermented in stainless steel tanks. The results are downright funky...

Rooted in Rioja, Traditions Gain New - August, 2009

by Eric Asimov

HERMANOS PECIÑA Fresh, expressive wines. (José Pastor/Vinos & Gourmet, Richmond, Calif.)

Sancerre: Say It With Feeling - April, 2009

by Eric Asimov

Two other top Sancerre producers were not in our tasting because their 2007s are not yet available, but I highly recommend wines from Gérard Boulay and of course Edmond Vatan, a master producer who retired after the 2007 vintage, but whose daughter, Anne, will continue to make the wines under his guidance. I had a bottle of the 2004 Vatan not so long ago, and I’ve been whispering “Sancerre” ever since.

Not So Cold ... Doctor’s Order - June, 2009

by Eric Asimov

IT could be that I’m a crank. Or a grump. Or maybe I’m anticipating that time in life when I’m not expected to be anything but cranky or grumpy. But I must call attention to an almost reflex practice among many American wine drinkers that troubles me in the extreme.

Tasting Highlights: Vacqueyras - August, 2008

by James Molesworth

Outstanding reds and excellent values from an oft-overlooked appellation of the Southern Rhône

Tasting Highlights: "Cult" German Riesling - October, 2008

by Bruce Sanderson

I have tasted a few wines from winemaker Reinhard Lowenstein over the years, but finally had the opportunity to officially review the range of 2006s from his Heymann-Lowenstein estate.

The Heymann-Lowenstein wines enjoy a cult status in Germany and abroad, but aren't as well known here in the United States. Located in Winningen, on the steep terraces of the Lower Mosel valley, Lowenstein focuses on individual soil types rather than specific vineyards, crafting "dry-style" wines that are rich and distinctive.

Misty Monday in Savigny-lès-Beaune - February, 2009

by Bruce Sanderson

I headed toward Savigny-lès-Beaune in the mist, with the smoke from the burning of vine cuttings illuminated against the hills. It was my last day in the Côte d’Or.

The cellar was cold at Domaine Chandon de Briailles, where Claude de Nicolaÿ-Drouhin gave me a tour of the 2007s. We started in Savigny, moving to Pernand and finally the grands crus of Corton.

The bottling began in November at the domaine, two months earlier than usual. “I wanted to capture the freshness of the vintage and, because we use whole berries,…

A Lighthearted German - November, 2008

by Eric Asimov

David Bowler, an importer and distributor with many German wines in his portfolio, offered another reason for the disappearance of kabinett. He points to the increase in the German thirst for dry rieslings. “They’re letting the vineyards go longer and riper so they can make a good dry wine with 12 or 13 percent alcohol,’’ he told me.

There’s no question that dry rieslings are the rage in Germany, and that the dry wines have greatly improved in the last 10 years, even from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, where it was…