Wine Spectator September 30, 2019

Visit WineSpectator.com/093019 to find links to all of the following resources. FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL OUR WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS HAVE YOU SEEN OUR NEW WEBSITE? We’ve redesigned WineSpectator.com to be more useful, intuitive and enjoyable. The new layout makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, whether on desktop, tablet or mobile device, and we’ve added exciting new sections and features such as Wine IQ, Wine & Culture, Know Your Grapes and Winery Intel. Visit the new and improved WineSpectator.com! LABOR DAY ENTERTAINING Throwing a party? We recruit leading chefs and cookbook authors to share their favorite crowd-pleasing reci-pes. Plus, Wine Spectator editors pick well-priced, highly rated wines to enjoy over the long weekend without straining your wallet. SIPS & TIPS NEWSLETTER Get new recipes delivered to your inbox, along with great value wines, travel ideas and…

For many wine lovers, enjoying a good bottle of wine with dinner inspires a visit to the winery that made it. Walking the vineyards and talking with the wine-maker conveys unique insights into terroir and taste. That’s why we regularly publish stories on travel to important wine regions. If you love wines from Bordeaux, say, or Napa Valley, we can help you create a trip to visit top producers, enjoy standout restaurants and immerse yourself in the region’s environment and culture. And just as wine and cheese are natural partners at the table, so a visit to a creamery can be as fun and educational as tasting at a winery. In this issue, we offer a guide to three important cheese-producing regions in the United States, where cheese quality has never been…

Bordeaux Flies West Editor’s note: Our “Feedback” page of the June 15 issue included a letter from reader Brad Kordic asking which California Cabernets most mirror the profile of red wines from Bordeaux. We published a response from reader Richard Dreger in the July 31 issue. Below is the latest addition to the conversation. In reference to Richard Dreger’s letter about Cali Cabs tasting like Bordeaux: I belong to a pretty sophisticated wine tasting group in Albany, N.Y., that has been tasting wines regularly since the late 1980s. We do most of our tastings blind. Over the years we have tasted many wines from Bordeaux and California, including many “first growths” from both of those regions. We often have a ringer in the mix to see how it compares with the others.…

In the biggest case involving wine in 14 years, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law that imposed a durational residency requirement on alcohol retailers in Tennessee. The 7–2 ruling, issued on June 26, opens the door for future challenges to state alcohol laws, including those that restrict direct shipping by out-of-state retailers. The case, Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Russell F. Thomas, originated in 2016, when Total Wine & More, the retail giant, and Affluere Investments, which operates a small wineshop, each applied for a retail liquor license in Tennessee. The Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association (TWSRA) complained to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission that neither applicant satisfied the state’s two-year residency requirement to obtain a liquor license. A federal court struck the law down, finding that…

Magnums are the perfect size for a party—especially when that party has 600-plus guests. This truism was nowhere more in evidence than at Wine Spectator’s annual Bring Your Own Magnum Party, hosted every year since 1988 as an unofficial kickoff to Auction Napa Valley. The event offers winemakers and industry members a chance to relax and rub shoulders during an evening of food and wine. This year’s gala was held at the Pavilion at the Estate in Yountville, adjacent to Bottega Ristorante. The evening welcomed wine-country vintners such as Joel Peterson of Once & Future and Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock, the father-son team featured on the cover of Wine Spectator’s June 30 issue. Also in the crowd were David Duncan of Silver Oak, Jean-Charles Boisset, Joe Wagner of Copper Cane, Bill…

The auction tent was full at the Meadowood resort in Napa Valley on June 1 as the crowd anticipated the arrival of pop star Katy Perry, the opening act for the 39th Auction Napa Valley. Perry didn’t disappoint as she revved up the 900 audience members for the bidding to come. “I’m going to play a couple of songs and then start drinking with you. Save me a glass,” Perry said. “I say, let’s be kind and drink wine.” Perry performed five songs on the auction stage, including hits such as “Roar” and “Firework,” and urged the audience to bid high to help support the charities the auction benefits, which focus on community health and children’s educational support programs. When all the winning bids for the live, silent and barrel auctions…