Wine Enthusiast Magazine Best of Year 2019

1 CLIMATE CHANGE IS ON EVERYONE’S MIND, AND THE INDUSTRY IS MOBILIZING TO FIGHT IT. From California to South America, throughout France and over to Oregon, consequences of climate change like rising temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns and water shortages are increasing at an alarming rate and impacting virtually all aspects of what’s in your glass. Concerned growers, producers and other beverage professionals are banding together in alliances like the Wineries for Climate Protection and International Wineries for Climate Action to develop and communicate research, establish support networks for challenged colleagues and encourage sustainable and responsible practices in the light of a dynamic agricultural landscape. 2 CALIFORNIA INFERNOS REMIND US THAT DEBILITATING FIRES ARE THE NEW NORMAL IN THE STATE’S WINE COUNTRY. On the heels of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, the October…

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC The distinction between these farming methods is sometimes murky. To find out why they’re not the same and learn where “natural” comes into play, visit winemag.com/biovsorg HOW RED WINE IS MADE Red wine has been produced the same way for more than 6,000 years. Discover how grapes are fermented into your favorite red at winemag.com/redwinemaking A QUICK GUIDE TO FIELD BLENDS Before varietal bottlings became the norm, winemakers blended different grapes grown together. Get a guide to these field blends and their rise in the natural wine scene. Visit winemag.com/fieldblends LISTEN UP! WINE ENTHUSIAST PODCAST If you haven’t subscribed to our podcast, you’re missing out! Tune in and listen as we explore emerging trends, provide educational tidbits and introduce you to the passionate people behind beverages. TO LISTEN, DOWNLOAD ON: You can also visit…

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN WINE AWARDS Founded by The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society, which partners with various producers and trade organizations in Australia, this program recognizes the people who are working to promote equality in the wine world. This year, that included Wine Enthusiast Contributing Editor and Australia/New Zealand taster Christina Pickard. TASTE OF THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY This four-day festival took place across six wine-country towns in the Santa Barbara County, California, area. The inaugural event consisted of meals, walk-around and guided tastings, and dozens of ancillary happenings throughout the region to showcase all the local wine and food scene has to offer. TOP: WINE AUSTRALIA (6); BOTTOM: PATRICK MUNIZ/COURTESY OF VISIT THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY (7)…

SPARKLING HISTORY As you raise a glass of bubbly to toast the new year (or an average Tuesday), take a moment to drink in the centuries of culture and innovation in your glass. IN THE BEGINNING Blanquette de Limoux, from Languedoc, shows up in writings from as early as 1531 by the monks of Saint-Hilaire. “Mauzac is the main grape of Blanquette de Limoux,” says Jason Wilson, a drinks writer and historian whose books include Godforsaken Grapes. “[It] has these really unique apple-peel aromas and flavors.” Blanquette de Limoux was first made using the ancestral method, or méthode ancestrale, where fermentation is stopped early, and wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle. The technique might have been a happy accident, with winter weather halting fermentation, and then yeast waking up as temperatures climbed. (Now, Blanquette…

The longstanding knock on nonalcoholic beers has been that nobody buys them for their flavor. Of late, however, forward-thinking breweries have begun to produce offerings just as delicious and innovative as standard craft beer. “If you’re not drinking alcohol or want a hiatus, you don’t just want another lager,” says Tammer Zein-El-Abedein. “You can have flavor and complexity without alcohol.” In 2018, he and his wife, Donna Hockey, both longtime nondrinkers, founded Surreal Brewing Company in Campbell, California. They focused on nonalcoholic versions of beloved craft-beer styles like a roasty porter and a citrus-tinged IPA, now sold nationwide and also online from the brewery. Because they contain zero alcohol (or less than 0.5% alcohol by volume), cans can be shipped across state lines. There’s no limit to the variety of alcohol-free beers available,…

The grape of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, Sangiovese currently accounts for about 10% of Italy’s total grapes. First documented in 1590, it’s seen its share of highs and lows, from being the backbone of the most sought-after wines of Tuscany, to a long stretch as an unnamed grape in cheap table wines throughout central Italy. More recently, Sangiovese has seduced growers in places like Australia, Argentina and Canada. It’s created a footprint in the U.S., too, mainly along the West Coast, but also in Texas. It’s searched a bit for its personality and place in the New World, winemaking styles that emphasize zippy, fresh character may finally settle it. CALIFORNIA In Sonoma, the Seghesio family still has some century-old vines. Newer plantings go into fresh incarnations like Peter Stolpman’s Love You Bunches…