Wine Spectator December 15, 2022

FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS TOP 100 WINES OF THE YEAR On Monday Nov. 7, we begin unveiling the Top 10 Wines of 2022—complete with videos, tasting notes and more—culminating with the Wine of the Year on Nov. 11 and the complete Top 100 list on Nov. 14. Don’t miss the year’s most exciting wines! WHAT AM I TASTING? Test your tasting skills in our mystery wine game. Every two weeks, we post a tasting note with clues from the color, aromas, flavors and structure. Then, you guess the variety, region, appellation and age of the wine. 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 regular column and its companion email newsletter.…

In this issue, senior editor Alison Napjus shines a light on why Champagne is the perfect wine not just for celebrations but for so many other dining occasions. Soaring sales in the United States are a testament to Champagne’s growing popularity. In 2021, exports to the U.S. jumped 33% from pre-COVID figures, securing America’s place as the No. 1 export market. It’s a trend that we also see evidenced at Wine Spectator’s tasting events, where Champagne producers pour nonstop throughout the night. With Champagne top of mind for the holidays, we have created a guide to explore its many facets. Whether you reside in New York, Palm Beach, Kansas City or beyond, there are many bars and restaurants that go to great lengths to offer a special focus on Champagne, including impressive…

Rave Review It was on rare occasion since Wine Spectator’s annual video contest was instituted that I would take the time to watch the winning videos (Wine-Spectator.com/video). Until now. Steve Jacobson’s Cabernet Tonight deserves an Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best production, best actor and best “all-around entertaining performance in a motion picture.” Mr. Jacobson’s video is worth watching over and over again. Gotta open a Cab now! Ed Galligan Vancouver, Wash. What’s Old Is New We’ve been traveling to Napa and Sonoma from the Midwest since the mid-1970s, but were unaware of El Molino (“Napa’s Ultimate Throwback,” Sept. 30). We recently moved to Portland, Ore., and on a recent trip to California wine country, I made an appointment to visit El Molino. [Co-owner] Jon Berlin hosted our group of…

After Hurricane Ian passed, Jacques Cariot walked into his wood-clad dining room at Bleu Provence to find that the water was 6 feet deep inside. He was actually relieved; he had feared the devastation to his Naples, Fla., Grand Award–winning restaurant would be worse. “When the water hits that level, everything has to be replaced,” Cariot said. “But we really do consider ourselves lucky.” Hurricane Ian made landfall in Fort Myers, Fla., on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm, devastating the area with 150 mph winds, displacing thousands across the state and killing dozens. After crossing into the Atlantic, Ian made a second landfall north of Charleston, S.C. Restaurant owners and chefs could only prepare their dining rooms, kitchens and cellars for the worst. Now, they have been working to…

In a merger of French wine titans, François Pinault’s Artémis Domaines—owner of iconic wineries such as Bordeaux’s Château Latour, Burgundy’s Clos de Tart and Napa’s Eisele Vineyard—is buying a majority stake in Maisons & Domaines Henriot, which owns Bouchard Père & Fils in Burgundy, William Fèvre in Chablis, Maison Henriot in Champagne and Beaux Frères in Oregon. The Henriot family will become minority shareholders in the combined company. “The merger of Maisons & Domaines Henriot and Artémis Domaines is a wonderful opportunity to bring together the treasures of our wine heritage under the same banner,” said François Pinault in a statement. Frédéric Engerer, managing director of Artémis Domaines, will oversee all the wineries, with the help of a supervisory board chaired by Gilles de Larouzière Henriot, the current CEO of Henriot. The…

Longtime California vintner Fred Franzia, the co-founder of Bronco Wine Co. and widely known for his Charles Shaw brand (aka “Two-Buck Chuck”), died Sept. 13 at age 79. Franzia founded Bronco Wine Co. with his brother and cousin in 1973, shortly after his family sold their Franzia wine brand to the Coca-Cola Company. Over the years, Franzia developed a reputation for bold deal-making and acerbic remarks. He built Bronco into one of the largest wine producers in the U.S. with no-holds-barred business practices, closely watching grape price trends so he could seize value, which he passed along to customers. He liked nothing more than buying excess wine from top producers and blending it into his value-priced bottlings. Franzia’s brashness extended to his wine labeling practices as well. In 1993, he was indicted…