Wine Spectator November 15, 2021

Visit WineSpectator.com/111521 to find links to all of the following resources. FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS STRAIGHT TALK WITH WINE SPECTATOR is an Instagram Live series featuring conversations with wine - and-food newsmakers. Guests have included winemakers Andy Erickson and Thomas Rivers Brown and chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres. Tune in to Straight Talk on Wine Spectator’s Instagram page 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 Unfiltered columns. And sign up for the companion biweekly email newsletter. It’s free! WINE SPECTATOR IS NOW ON YOUTUBE Watch all our great wine and recipe tips, winemaker interviews and tastings on your desktop, laptop, tablet or…

In this issue, we celebrate 40 years of the Wine Experience with a retrospective package that includes a photo scrapbook featuring highlights from across the past four decades. The images remind us of all the winemakers, chefs, celebrities and wine lovers who have joined together to enjoy amazing wines and benefit the non-profit Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation. Due to the extraordinary support from both consumers and the industry, the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation is pleased to announce its largest gift ever: a donation of $10 million to Napa Valley College. On page 19, you can read more about the newly named Wine Spectator Wine Education Complex and our hope to help open the door to careers in wine for young adults from all walks of life. This contribution brings the foundation’s…

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to ravage restaurant revenues across the United States last year, authorities in 35 states threw eateries a lifeline in the form of relaxed alcohol restrictions, allowing restaurants to sell wine and cocktails to go. Now diners across the U.S. are seeing a mishmash of changes, from permanent legalization to total reversal. It’s leaving hospitality teams grateful in some parts of the country and fuming in others, particularly as the Delta strain hurts restaurant sales. Even with significant markdowns required to compete with retail stores—often between 15% and 30%—to-go alcohol became a lifeline for many restaurants, especially at the onset of the crisis. At Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Barolo Grill in Denver, to-go orders of wine, liquor and beer represented 40% of sales when the shutdowns…

The Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation is donating $10 million to expand and update the teaching facilities of Napa Valley College (NVC) and its Viticulture, Wine and Technology (VWT) program. Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, announced the donation on Sept. 15, as part of the Scholarship Foundation’s efforts to help educate the next generation of American winemakers. (For more on the institutions, programs and students that have received aid since the foundation’s inception, see page 98.) “If there was ever an educational institution poised for significant contributions to the growth of the California wine industry, this is it,” said Shanken. “It is our hope that the door for learning opens wider for young adults from all walks of life, providing a path for future leaders in the wine…

Adevastating wildfire swept through parts of the Var region in Provence in August, leaving winegrowers reeling from the loss of buildings, equipment and grapes just days before the 2021 harvest. “It’s been annus horribilis for French winegrowers. We’ve had frost, we’ve had hail and now wildfires,” said Eric Pastorino, president of the regional trade group Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Provence (CIVP). At press time in September, only a few winegrowers have been able to return, meaning the full damage was unknown. Authorities estimate more than 19,800 acres have burned so far, including vineyards, towns and 17,500 acres of protected forest in the Plaine des Maures Nature Reserve. Two people are confirmed dead. At the most critical stage, 1,200 firefighters were battling the blaze. Thousands of people were evacuated from…

Becky Wasserman Becky Wasserman, founder of Le Serbet and Becky Wasserman & Co., died Aug. 20 of a respiratory illness. She had suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for several years, according to her family. She was 84. An innovator and entrepreneur, Wasserman championed small growers from around France, but particularly Burgundy, where she lived beginning in 1968. “She created Burgundy as we know it today,” said Alex Gambal, a negociant who learned the trade while working for Le Serbet. Wasserman arrived in Burgundy in 1968, with her artist husband, Bart. The couple purchased a farm in Bouilland, a tiny village 10 miles from Beaune. The marriage failed, but she stayed, and in 1976 started a barrel brokering business. She also began selecting Burgundy producers for Phillip Diamond’s new import firm. “Mom had a…