The flavor of smoke in wine

Total sales in the Premiere Napa Valley 2022 auction hit $2.1m, including the buyer’s premium, according to Sotheby’s, which co-hosted the event alongside trade body Napa Valley Vintners. All 109 lots were ‘one-of-a-kind’ cuvées from leading producers, created specifically for the Premiere Napa Valley 2022 auction. Wines were from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 vintages. Only trade buyers can take part in the annual sale, but restaurants, retailers and merchants purchasing lots will generally offer the ...

The new range, drawn from whisky stocks laid down by the Gordons for almost a century and named after the family home in Dufftown, comprises The Charles Gordon Collection – in 2022, four whiskies priced at £3,000-4,500 per bottle – and The Legacy Collection – four whiskies priced at £950-1,450. They include the first spirit produced at the Girvan grain distillery in South Ayrshire in 1964, and a 56-year-old whisky, unusually blended as new make spirit before its maturation. ‘This is a collection ...

A ‘very promising’ vintage is expected, said the regional wine council (CIVB), as the Bordeaux 2022 harvest gets underway for reds. It’s still too early to judge fully and yields will be lower in some cases following heat, drought and also hailstorms during the growing season, yet the CIVB cited ‘attractive but small berries’ and healthy vineyard conditions during the crucial flowering period and for harvest. Europe has seen early starts to wine harvests in 2022 and the C ...