The Winery Michael Pimpel of Wiener Gemischter Satz of Weinland

In the wake of the second destructive wave of the phylloxera bug in California in the 1980s and 1990s, Cabernet Sauvignon rose to such prominence and dominance (especially in Napa Valley) that I, like most people, assumed it must now be the most expensive grape variety in the state. Wrong. That would be Cabernet Franc. Top 20 California Cabernet Franc wines Slowly, steadily and quietly, Cabernet Sauvignon’s father has displaced its son* as the priciest grape to buy and the grape that is generati ...

Only 10? I feel a little like I do when faced with a hefty restaurant wine list. So many lovely wines, so little time to do them justice. My mind tracks the names, vintages and regions in fleeting time, flipping like a kaleidoscope. The effort is always accompanied by that nagging worry you’re missing the absolute gem. All the while, your dinner date is itching simply to get on and tuck into the evening with a good glass of wine. The Tooley household has been through a lot in 2021, including som ...

There has been buyer and trade enthusiasm for California’s 2018-vintage releases, yet there is still a sense of the region finding its way on the international fine wine market. Releases of top Cabernet Sauvignon and ‘Bordeaux blend’ wines from the 2018 vintage have added some spark to the California sector of the market this year. ‘We’re seeing much stronger demand for blue-chip 2018s than we did for the 2017s,’ said Ryan Woodhouse, domestic wine buyer for K&L Wine Merchants in the US. Scar ...