Wild chimps get naturally tipsy, Sonoma debates a 1% wine tax, and Lodi’s once-odd vineyard now has a waiting list. Plus, Robb Report names the 50 greatest California Chardonnays—and our picks of the week span Panizzi, San Felice, and Azumi Houston.
Angelina Mondavi breaks family precedent as the first woman to lead winemaking at Charles Krug, while Europe’s wine culture faces WHO scrutiny, Costco recalls shattering Prosecco, and Chianti Classico earns new respect with its subzones.
Three states—Mississippi, Delaware, and Arkansas—have overhauled their direct-to-consumer shipping laws, signaling a notable loosening of long-standing restrictions in the U.S. DtC wine market. Meanwhile, Alma Rosa’s Samra Morris has been named a finalist for Wine Enthusiast’s 2025 Winemaker of the Year, Napa bottle prices push national averages upward, and blind
Congress kneecaps an anti-alcohol panel, Gen X flexes real buying power, and reservation-only bars squeeze spontaneity. Here is why it matters for your glass now, plus our picks, La Lama’s patient Chianti Classico, the value 2022 Il Bruciato, and Houston’s Xochi where corkage is not allowed.
California’s 2025 harvest is turning grim with abandoned fruit and vineyard removals, while climate stress is normalizing non-vintage still wines and even media brands are launching wine shops and clubs. We also chart Texas Hill Country’s steady rise, and spotlight Felsina, a nuanced 2017 San Filippo Brunello, and Vegas’s LMP
Wine headlines this week span from USA Today’s surprising “Best Wine Regions” list—where Suisun Valley, Rogue Valley, and even Lubbock make the cut—to the San Francisco Giants’ launch of Major League Baseball’s first wine club with Sonoma County vintners. On the global front, South African wineries face steep new U.S.
Napa cult Cab demand is cooling as collectors trade $500 bottles for fresher, better-value wines, Michelin standards differ sharply between Europe and the U.S., Gen Z drinks less but better, and Sonoma’s proposed Wine Improvement District sparks pushback.
It’s list season again, and the USA Today 10 Best rankings are in: spotlighting top tasting rooms, wine country hotels, and winery tours across the U.S., with a few familiar names and some hidden gems we’ve personally explored. From Pinot standouts in Oregon to boutique stays in wine-soaked valleys, we’ve
From quirky historical tariffs to modern trade disputes, this week’s wine headlines prove politics and wine have always been an unpredictable pairing, sometimes with billion-dollar stakes. Meanwhile, Napa’s high-tech Vineyard 29 hits the market, Jura’s once-illegal vin jaune gains U.S. approval, and Sedona’s Art of Wine invites guests to sip,
Jancis Robinson urges wine lovers to snap up Sauternes while it’s still undervalued and unfashionable, arguing that its longevity, craftsmanship, and inevitable resurgence make it a smart cellar investment.
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A Brit faces charges in a $99M wine scam, Champagne producers revive old bottles, and tech tools target DTC wine woes. Plus, when to send wine back, and this week’s picks: Alma Rosa and Orla.
From a landmark Michigan court victory inspiring a legal challenge to Napa’s ag preserve law, to Washington’s urban DTC tasting boom, to Alex Maltman’s sharp debunking of “minerality” myths in Taste the Limestone, Smell the Slate—the stories all reveal how producers are reclaiming control over how, where, and why
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