Wine Spectator October 15, 2020

Visit WineSpectator.com/101520 to find links to all of the following resources. FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL OUR WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS STRAIGHT TALK WITH WINE SPECTATOR is an Instagram Live series featuring conversations with wine-and-food newsmakers. Recent editions have featured former NFL star and Intercept Wines founder Charles Woodson, Heitz Cellar CEO Carlton McCoy, star winemakers Mark Aubert and Thomas Rivers Brown and chefs Jose Andres, Emeril Lagasse and Charlie Palmer. (All episodes are archived on our IGTV channel for viewing anytime.) Tune in to Straight Talk on Wine Spectator’s Instagram page, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, and check out the chat schedule at WineSpectator.com/LiveChatCalendar. THE WINE WORLD, UNFILTERED Love wine and spirits? Into pop culture? Get the scoop on how drinks intersect with movies, TV, music, sports, politics and more in our…

During the extraordinary growth of the modern California wine industry, the state’s star grape and best wine has been Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly from Napa Valley. From Inglenook to Georges de Latour, Mondavi to Caymus, Harlan to Beckstoffer To Kalon, these wines have earned the highest ratings and fetched the highest prices. But today, Pinot Noir is coming on strong. It’s not that the quality of Cabernet is declining. Rather, Pinot Noir has made tremendous strides in recent decades and now offers the quality, character, diversity and value that wine lovers seek. And above all, it just tastes delicious. We have tracked this progress in our tastings and seen the rise of interest among our readers. To keep California Pinot drinkers in the know, senior editor Kim Marcus, our lead taster for these…

U.S. Panel Targets Moderate Drinking For 25 years, the U.S. government’s dietary guidelines for alcohol consumption have urged moderation, mentioning some possible health benefits, but also recommending that men limit themselves to no more than two drinks per day and women to one drink or less. Now a panel of health experts is saying that may be too much and is recommending the guideline be cut in half for men. The panel, part of the group in charge of revamping the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, used damning language to describe alcohol consumption as a major problem in America, pointing to rising rates of binge drinking and growing evidence of links between alcohol and some forms of cancer. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, released July 15, was dismissive of numerous studies…

Canned wine was once a novelty. No longer. In less than a decade, sales of wine in cans have jumped—from just $2 million in 2012 to $183.6 million over the 52-week period ending July 11 of this year. Representing nearly 1.8 million cases worth of wine, the past year’s sales vaulted 68% higher than those of the previous 52 weeks, according to Nielsen data. The category is booming in every aspect, from quality to sales to selection to availability. The can format is now the fastest-growing segment of the market, tempting consumers with convenience and with wines made in an approachable style. And cans are poised for even greater success. “The canned wines category is continuing to grow at its pre-COVID rate, and our internal numbers reflect that larger industry trend,”…

The 25% tariffs the Trump administration’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) imposed on most French, German, Spanish and U.K. wines in 2019 will remain in place for the foreseeable future, forcing wine lovers to pay more and inflicting economic distress on importers, retailers and restaurateurs. The tariffs went unchanged in an August review of the policy. “If the [Trump] administration is serious about helping American businesses recover from the pandemic, they will end the absolute lunacy of these job-killing tariffs,” said Ben Aneff, managing partner of Tribeca Wine Merchants and current president of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance. The fight stems from a two-decade dispute between the U.S. and the E.U. over subsidized loans from Spain, France, Germany and the U.K. to Airbus. Last October, the Trump administration announced 25%…

Now In Our IGTV Archives AUG. 27 Tonya Pitts, wine director at San Francisco’s One Market, and advisory board member of Wine Unify AUG. 25 Terry Arnold, Sr. VP at Southern Wine & Spirits and executive sponsor of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund AUG. 20 André Hueston Mack, founder of Maison Noir Wine, sommelier, and Brooklyn, N.Y., restaurateur AUG. 18 Julia Coney, wine journalist and educator, and founder of Black Wine Professionals AUG. 13 Will Blackmon, retired NFL star, Super Bowl champ, and owner of The Wine MVP AUG. 11 Brenae Royal, manager of Sonoma’s historic Monte Rosso vineyard, owned by E.&J. Gallo AUG. 6 Mac McDonald, owner of Sonoma’s Vision Cellars, and founder of the Association of African American Vintners AUG. 4 Carlton McCoy, CEO of Napa’s Heitz Cellar, and former wine director of Grand Award–winning The Little Nell, in Aspen WATCH ON INSTAGRAM Scan the QR…