Blog Index

Bruce Sanderson

Two Interpretations of Nebbiolo

Posted: 03:07 AM ET, 11/30/07

Tuesday I visited two wineries with very different interpretations of Nebbiolo. These might be considered the two extremes in style. Both make delicious Barolos.

The wines of Conterno Fantino are fermented in stainless steel rotofermentors and aged in 100 percent new French oak barriques. Read more

James Laube

Young Wines Can Offer Rare and Distinct Flavors

Posted: 02:40 PM ET, 11/29/07

Wines keep getting released earlier and earlier, and I'm not talking about Beaujolais Nouveau.

Sometimes that’s a good thing, because you get a rare glimpse of fruit flavors that are so pure, vivid and distinctive. I loved the 2005 Villa Creek Garnacha, from Denner Vineyard in Paso Robles ($35). Read more

Harvey Steiman

All Over the Map

Posted: 12:35 PM ET, 11/29/07

First, a confession. I love maps. The first extra application I installed on my handheld PDA was Google Maps. I also drive this magazine's art department nuts with my corrections for maps we publish, as in, "No, this dot should be about 1/8 inch to the right, and just a tad down. Read more

James Molesworth

A Sit Down With Bodega Norton

Posted: 09:58 AM ET, 11/29/07

I sat down with Michael Halstrick, president, and Jorge Riccitelli, chief winemaker, of Argentina’s Bodega Norton yesterday, as they were in town to promote their new icon wine.

Halstrick, whose family also owns the Swarovski crystal company, has steadily piloted Norton’s growth over the past few years. Read more

Bruce Sanderson

The Vietti Touch

Posted: 03:48 AM ET, 11/29/07

For lunch Monday we dined at La Ciau del Tornavento, a hilltop restaurant with beautiful view looking out over the Langhe and off to the Alps in the distance. The restaurant holds a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and offers more than 2,000 selections, primarily from Piedmont. Read more

James Laube

Harvesting Olives at Rutherford's Round Pond

Posted: 04:55 PM ET, 11/28/07

Ryan MacDonnell stood next to a row of olive trees, which bumps up against a row of grapevines. The grapes are long gone, but the olive harvest is in full swing. MacDonnell, who wears two hats overseeing both Round Pond winery and its olive oil mill, is holding a dozen small berries that are about to be pressed into oil. Read more

James Suckling

Mozza and Comme Ça Are More Than Comme Ça ...

Posted: 11:23 AM ET, 11/28/07

We Americans can do some things in the restaurants as well or even better than the Europeans. In fact, we can sometimes beat them at their own game.

I was thinking of that following a couple of dinners in two hot new restaurants in Los Angeles, Osteria Mozza and Comme Ça. Read more

Bruce Sanderson

Barolo 101

Posted: 03:44 AM ET, 11/28/07

I had more geography lessons on Monday, this time courtesy of Luca Currado of Vietti. The Vietti cellars are located in the heart of Castiglione Falletto. From the terrace outside, there is a good view of the western part of the zone.

There are three main ridges where the best vineyard exposures are located. Read more

James Laube

Rotten Grapes Yield Liquid Gold

Posted: 12:55 PM ET, 11/27/07

If you didn’t know better, you might think you'd just stepped into the vineyard from hell.

It’s Nov. 27, a month after most of the grapes in Napa Valley have been picked, yet there are still grapes on the vines here in this rural Coombsville vineyard, hidden by a grove of trees east of Napa. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Thanks for the Wines

Posted: 12:35 PM ET, 11/27/07

The phone rang in the next room. I put down the bottle of wine I was pondering in my wine cellar, and rushed to get the call. My friend Leonard wanted to know what time to arrive on Thanksgiving. He, his wife and daughter were joining us. "I was just rummaging around in the wine cellar looking for something to drink Thursday," I told him. Read more

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