This week’s wine round-up delivers a fascinating mix of divine harvests, ancient science, and encouraging health data. We dive into the Vatican’s sustainable farming venture, where Pope Leo XIV blessed the inaugural 5,000 bottles of organic Cabernet Sauvignon harvested by refugee workers. Over in Italy, 2,000-year-old grape seeds retrieved from Chianti mud reveal that the world-famous red wine region was originally anchored in white varieties. Meanwhile, Texas winemakers scored their strongest performance ever at the Decanter World Wine Awards, and a landmark study from Weill Cornell Medicine offers reassuring news by finding no link between moderate drinking and cancer mortality.
Sarah Neish, writing for The Drinks Business, reports that Pope Leo XIV has blessed the inaugural vintage from the two-hectare organic vineyard at Borgo Laudato Si, the 55-acre sustainable farming operation within the papal summer retreat at
Castel Gandolfo. Planted exclusively to Cabernet Sauvignon, the vineyard produced 5,000 bottles in its first vintage, with hopes of eventually reaching some 20,000 bottles annually — though the Laudato Si office stresses production remains experimental.
From the article:
“Approximately 8,000 vines in the papal vineyard are tended and harvested by refugee workers as part of a programme that trains migrants and unaccompanied minors in the skills of sustainable agriculture, livestock care, and hospitality. Former prisoners are also welcomed into the winegrowing initiative, which aims to train more than 1,000 people per year. Once grapes are harvested, the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines are aged in oak barrels and thought to be sold within the Vatican.
Vatican City is a duty-free zone, meaning that bottles of wine are substantially cheaper to buy there than in the city of Rome. This has been the case since 1929, when the Lateran Treaty recognised the Vatican as an independent state. Within the Vatican, there are two shops selling wine; the Annona store, which is open to all, while the second is housed within an old railway station and only accessible by membership card holders.
The editorial team at Luxurious Magazine explores a discovery from the University of York, where scientists sequenced DNA from grape seeds preserved for two millennia in the oxygen-free mud at the bottom of wells in Chianti. The findings reveal that the region now synonymous with structured reds was historically anchored in white grapes.
From the article:
The most striking revelation is not the age of the vines, but their consistency, a single grape variety cultivated, maintained, and passed from Etruscan hands into Roman systems over centuries, suggesting a form of agricultural devotion that borders on philosophical.
Science too often privileges the visible line of proof, when in truth some of its most important advances have come from accident, improvisation, and the fortunate failure that only becomes meaningful when a curious mind is present to see it. The preservation of those seeds was accidental, the discovery itself accidental, and yet the result is a story of deliberate human care spanning centuries, a quiet demonstration that civilization often begins not with mastery, but with noticing, then reusing, then refining what was already there.
This press release from Texas Wine Growers (TWG), published via Wine Business, announces the strongest-ever showing by Texas wineries at the , and marking the largest Texas presence in DWWA history.
From the Press Release:
“This is a defining moment for the Texas wine industry,” said Bryan Chagoly, President of Texas Wine Growers and Co-Owner of Sandy Road Vineyards. “Winning Texas’ first Gold medals at the world’s largest wine competition, alongside this kind of depth across the board, shows that Texas isn’t an emerging wine region anymore – we’re an established one. Our winemakers are producing wines that hold their own against the best in the world.”
Random Call Outs:
Ron Geraci writing for Wine Spectator reports on a large Weill Cornell Medicine study of 26,694 Americans that found moderate drinkers showed no greater risk of dying from cancer over an average 13.3-year follow-up than peers who abstained. Lead author Dr. Laura Pinheiro, who had hypothesized she would find elevated cancer-death risk among moderate drinkers given the 2025 Surgeon General’s report, called the absence of a significant relationship surprising.
From the Article:
“When we set out to do the study, we had hypothesized that we would observe a greater risk of cancer death among moderate drinkers, given the different findings that have been recently presented in the Surgeon General’s [2025] report,” said lead author, Dr. Laura Pinheiro, associate professor of Health Services Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. “It was surprising that we didn’t observe a significant relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and cancer death.”
One of the study’s main objectives was to improve upon existing research on alcohol consumption and cancer risk that has informed recent recommendations from health organizations. These prior studies have reliability issues due to certain design features or their failure to sufficiently adjust for confounding factors that can skew results (such as differences among subjects in smoking, socioeconomic status and diet), according to the Weill Cornell researchers.
Jacob Williams Winery in McMinnville, OR
Jacob Williams Winery sources its grapes from the Columbia River AVA and Columbia River Gorge AVA, Washington’s two most widely planted AVAs. The region is rich with micro-climates and growers experimenting with all kinds of grapes, from Bordeaux varieties to riesling and tempranillo.
While the Jacob Williams’ team is primarily focused on Bordeaux-inspired wines, winemaker Cushman has a soft spot for Italian varieties like barbera, which he’s cultivating in one of the family’s vineyards, so we may see a few more Italian bottlings in the near future.
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
This cabernet is all about balance: balanced acidity, alcohol, and weight on the palate. Notes of wild raspberries, juicy black currants, prunes, and minerally wet gravel are all presented in a way that’s familiar and inviting. Hints of oak elegantly tie it all together.
Silver Oak’s winemaker, Christiane Schleussner, describes the 2017 Alexander Valley vintage as rustic, but silky. The merlot and cab franc offers up warm notes of cinnamon to smooth out the tannins of this slightly austere cabernet.
The best thing about this wine might be the finish, it’s long, satisfying, and encourages easy drinking.
Tierra Sur at the Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, CA
Tierra Sur restaurant is located within the Herzog Wine Cellars winery, museum, and operations space and is one of the most highly rated restaurants in Oxnard, California. It has a near-perfect OpenTable score and has been voted one of the best restaurants on OpenTable several times.
We were extremely impressed with the food at Tierra Sur. The Ribeye Steak, Eggplant Osso Bucco, Pan-seared Salmon, and Tagliatelle Alla Carbonara were all excellent.
Corkage: $20 Per Bottle / No Limit
Oxnard, CA
4.5 Stars from over 558+ reviews
For over 18 years, Moqueca Restaurant has been a proud ambassador of authentic Brazilian cuisine in California. Founded by a family passionate about food and hospitality, the restaurant was born from a mission to offer a unique experience: combining fresh ingredients, traditional recipes, and warm service in a space that celebrates Brazil