Bordeaux Vintages: Why the Year Can Beat the Château
A dozen 1961 Lafites sold for $4,335 in 1990–91 and a dozen 1965s for $190. This guide to Bordeaux vintages explains how weather sets a year, what First Growth means…
Alsace Wine Region: A Moving Border and a Mountain Wall
French drinkers once found Alsace's wines too green, too acidic and too expensive. This guide to the Alsace wine region covers the border that moved four times, the Vosges rain…
Loire Valley Wine Guide: Four Regions Along One River
A guide to Loire Valley wine: the four regions along the river from Muscadet to Sancerre, their grapes and styles, how to read the labels, and where the sources disagree.
Piedmont Wine Region: Where Wine Never Learned to Hurry
The same fog that names Nebbiolo settles over the whole of Piedmont most autumn mornings — and the region has never been in a hurry to see it burn off.…
French Wine Labels, Decoded
How to read a French wine label: why place matters more than grape, France's AOC quality pyramid, and why Grand Cru means something different in every region.
Bordeaux vs Burgundy: Two Philosophies of French Wine
Bordeaux vs Burgundy: the blend versus the single grape, the classification systems, and why the same country produces two entirely different answers to what wine should be.
How English Wine Beat Champagne at Its Own Game
How wine in England went from a historical footnote to a genuine rival to Champagne: the chalk, the 1988 gamble, and the blind tastings that proved it.
What Is Terroir in Wine? A Simple Explanation
Terroir is the reason a Chardonnay from Chablis tastes nothing like one from Napa Valley. Here is what terroir means, the four elements that shape it, and how to taste…
Burgundy Wine Region: A Complete Guide for Beginners
The complete beginner’s guide to Burgundy: the classification system, five sub-regions from Chablis to the Mâconnais, what the wines taste like, how to read a label, and where to find…