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In the Oct. 31, 2006 Issue:




Cover Story

100 Great Values  Out of the nearly 7,000 wines reviewed in the past six months, we present 100 noteworthy selections, each priced at $25 a bottle or less, plus tips for pairing them with food  Alison Napjus and Kim Marcus

  • Wine Spectator Online  Bonus Video: Join managing editor Kim Marcus as he tastes and discusses some of this issue's broad array of value wines.
  • Interested in learning more about wine? Try one of the Wine Spectator School courses, from the ABCs of Wine Tasting to specialized classes on Tuscany and Australia.

Features

Tasting Report

Tuscany  Sangiovese-based reds surge in quality, as do international-style blends  James Suckling

  • Wine Spectator Online  Bonus Video: James Suckling interviews the producer of the top 2001 Brunello in this report, Valdicava owner Vincenzo Abbruzzese.

Alsace  The 2004 vintage provides crisp white wines defined by fruit and mineral flavors, balance and purity  Bruce Sanderson

  • Wine Spectator Online  Bonus Video: To learn more about France's Alsace region, join senior editor Bruce Sanderson as he tastes some of the best whites from the 2004 vintage.

Travel

Maremma  Tuscany's wild frontier is being tamed by a growing number of adventurous vintners, skilled chefs and friendly hoteliers  Jo Cooke

Dining

Kansas City  This all-American town is finding its way past barbecue and into the realm of fine dining  John Mariani

  • Wine Spectator Online  John Mariani has covered fine restaurants across the country and around the world. Visit his archives.

People

Summit Success  A New Zealand winemaker overcomes physical disability and controversy to attain his highest goal—climbing Mt. Everest  Eric Arnold

Departments

This Issue  Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront  Vineyards deal with the effects of global warming; the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's; Margaux winegrowers protest proposal for a new highway; Oz grape glut keeps wine prices low; Mouton's second act in the languedoc; GrapeVine

  • Wine Spectator Online  Keep up with breaking news about the wine world every day.

Tastes  Fish direct from the Mediterranean; Spanish olive oil; the gold standard for espresso; Hot Spot: D19 in Aspen; Serious Cherries

Dining Out  Las Vegas  Harvey Steiman

Columns

  • James Laube  California's values deficit
    • Wine Spectator Online  In his recent blog posts, James Laube has discussed cork taint, the increase in new California brands and how he conducts his tastings.
  • Matt Kramer  The biodynamic way
  • James Suckling  Beating the heat in Piedmont
    • Wine Spectator Online  Whether he is tasting in Piedmont, traveling to St.-Tropez or writing at home in Tuscany, James Suckling shares his latest tasting experiences in his blog.
  • Kim Marcus  Southern France's Chablis

Collecting  The Sun Valley Center sets a new record at its 25th anniversary auction; Imagine 2006 charity auction raises more than $2 million; Collecting Q&A

  • Wine Spectator Online  Subscribers to Wine Spectator Online can search the complete Auction Index for prices on collectibles, read analyses of the latest auction results and view a calendar of upcoming sales in our Collecting section.

Wine Talk  U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson  Eric Arnold

The Buying Guide

For complete reviews of more than 163,000 wines, use Wine Spectator Online's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.


INSIDER AND ADVANCE RATINGS  Get a jump on the most exciting new wines by subscribing to our two newsletters. The biweekly Insider provides a first look at our editors' latest tastings, while the Advance offers a sneak peek at selected ratings from Wine Spectator's upcoming issue.

2006 HARVEST  We're checking in with winemakers across the Northern Hemisphere to find out how the vintage is going in the top regions of Europe and the United States. Visit our site regularly for the latest news, insights from the vineyards and more.

HALLOWEEN TREATS  This holiday isn't just for kids—for the grown-up who still has a sweet tooth, we'll highlight a few of our favorite sticky wines and some great desserts to have with them.

CALIFORNIA WINE EXPERIENCE  Can't make it to this year's Wine Experience in San Francisco? Our full coverage of the event brings your favorite winemakers and chefs to you, with photos, articles and videos from the tastings and seminars. If only we could also bring you the wines ...


FREE ACCESS TO THE SITE  Coming Soon:  Celebrate Wine Spectator Online's 10th birthday! From Oct. 16–31, we'll be offering visitors free access to our entire site, including our wine ratings, vintage charts, tasting reports and more. Don't miss out on this opportunity!

BONUS VIDEOS  Watch Wine Spectator editors talk about the wines and regions featured in their latest articles. This month, Kim Marcus highlights some of the world's best wine values, Bruce Sanderson discusses the whites of Alsace, and James Suckling tastes Brunello with a top producer of the variety. You can also subscribe to Wine Spectator's weekly video Podcast on iTunes.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION  Got an opinion or question about wine, food pairing or wine-friendly places to eat out? Share it with your fellow readers in our forums, featuring a new moderator.

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