Wine Spectator June 15, 2017

When we think about great wines, we naturally give credit to the dedicated winery owners and talented winemakers who make them. But many of Napa Val-ley’s best Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings have a differ-ent thread in common: They come from vineyards owned by Andy Beckstoffer. Beckstoffer doesn’t own a winery, and he’s never been a winemaker. He’s a businessman who, early on in his career in Napa, deduced that owning vineyards could be a path to success. That was in the mid-1970s, when he acquired more than 1,000 acres of vines being offered for sale by his former employer, Heublein, in Napa Valley and Mendocino County. There were ups and downs over the years, but Beckstoffer kept his eye on the prize. His biggest score was acquiring nearly 100 acres of the historic…

Road to Ripeness James Laube presented an in-teresting review of the rea-sons why we now enjoy the world-famous aromas and palate notes of Napa wines (“The Roots of Ripeness,” March 31). Quoting H.G. Wells, “Adapt or perish, now as ever,” was the attitude taken by the Napa Valley growers. They moved fast against the threat of a phylloxera infesta-tion. They had the advantage of years of knowledge from research and many lessons learned as compared to the Europeans in the latter part of the 1800s. The historical mo-ment was different, and they followed the steps left behind by French growers Leo Lali-man and Gaston Bazille, with the help of Americans like Texan horticulturist T.V. Munson. Faced with the chal-lenge, they creatively seized the opportunity, thinking be-yond the main problem. I can see how…

Charles Banks, a financial adviser and wine company owner, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in a federal courthouse in San Antonio on April 3. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The case stems from allegations made by former NBA star Tim Duncan, a longtime Banks client, who says he was duped out of millions of dollars in various investments Banks made on his behalf. In a statement of facts filed March 31, lawyers for Banks admit that he misrepresented the terms of an agreement Duncan signed related to invest-ments in a sports-merchandising company called Gameday Entertainment. “Charles Banks acted with a knowing intent to deceive Tim Duncan,” states the document. Banks, in addition to his finance career, is the founder of Terroir Life, which owns or…

In a rare deal, a notable classified-growth Bordeaux winery has changed hands. The Cazes family, owners of the well-known Pauillac fifth-growth Château Lynch Bages, has purchased Château Haut-Batailley, a fellow fifth-growth also located in Pauillac. Haut-Batailley com-prises 100 acres, roughly half of them planted, and produces 9,000 cases annually. It had been managed by François-Xavier Borie, owner of Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and owned by an extension of his family. “It’s the deal of a lifetime,” said a beaming Jean-Charles Cazes, direc-tor of Domaine Jean-Michel Cazes, in an exclusive interview with Wine Spectator about the deal. “It’s a unique opportunity to write a new story. And it’s rare because it is a deal from one family to another.” The purchase price was not disclosed, though public transactions re-corded by SAFER, a French agency that approves…

E. & J. Gallo, the world’s largest family-owned wine company, continues to see premium wine as the future. The company sealed a deal in March to buy Stagecoach Vineyard, a 1,300-acre site near the area known as Pritchard Hill in Napa Valley. The rocky hillside site has 600 acres planted to vines in an area in-creasingly recognized for producing quality fruit. A purchase price has not been disclosed. “It’s a significant investment for the Gallo fam-ily,” Roger Nabedian, senior vice president and general manager of Gallo’s Premium Wine Divi-sion, told Wine Spectator. “It is exciting that we’re furthering our commitment to quality wine.” Jan Krupp bought the site in 1995, just four years after he shifted his focus from medicine to wine-making. Krupp and his brother Bart spent seven years clearing dense…

Summer is the perfect time to check out Long Island’s thriving wine scene. If you’re planning a vineyard visit (see “Fresh and Breezy,” page 26), make your way to local dining spots where top-rated wines are accompanied by cuisine that excites and satisfies, such as the three restaurants spotlighted here. For even more great options, see our list of Wine Spectator award–winning restaurants on Long Island’s East End, below. CACI NORTH FORK Websitewww.cacinorthfork.com SOUTHOLD — Caci has made an impression with locals and visitors alike for its traditional, regionally oriented Italian fare. Among the dishes paying hom-age to chef Marco Pellegrini’s homeland are house-made Um-brian pork sausage (available un-til June 12) and jumbo shrimp with blood-orange sauce (avail-able throughout the summer). Offerings change with each new season, and the formaggi menu has a…