Wine

The Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation held its first fully live auction since 2019 on April 23 and the event’s triumphant return drew over 600 attendees and raised $3.8 million for 16 children’s charities in northwest Florida. The live auction raised $1.8 million more than last year’s hybrid event, which combined some in-person events with

Nine months after being arrested and accused of arson, New York sommelier Caleb Ganzer has reached an agreement with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. New York Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley signed off on the deal April 5. Ganzer, a co-owner and managing director of popular wine bar Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, was accused of

Your next bottle of Prosecco might be delivered in a green Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Gianluca Bisol, president and CEO of Prosecco’s Desiderio Bisol & Figli winery, embarked on April 26 on a 25-day tour of the U.S. in a Verde Montreal–colored 2022 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, provided by the luxury Italian car manufacturer. Desiderio Bisol

E. Guigal, the prominent Northern Rhône Valley producer, has expanded its holdings in the Southern Rhône with the purchase of Château d’Aquéria in Tavel from the de Bez family. The estate totals 242 acres with 168 under vine. Approximately 100 of those acres are in Tavel while the remaining vines are in the neighboring Lirac

As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its third month, the hospitality industry continues to step up with creative relief efforts to help refugees and those under attack in the country. Atelier Crenn chef and co-owner Dominique Crenn, who has previously raised money for breast cancer research, is partnering with World Chef—producer of food TV shows

Atlanta’s art scene received a $3.1 million boost from the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction in March. The 30th annual event raised its largest total ever for the High Museum’s exhibition and education programs after hosting 2,500 people for a weekend of festivities. The event continues to be one of the top charity wine auctions

From car mechanic and professional photographer to vintner, Jack Cakebread found success no matter where the road took him. Moving to Napa Valley in the 1970s, he launched Cakebread Cellars, and over the next five decades built it into an internationally recognized family-owned winery. Cakebread died April 29 at age 92. Throughout his career, Cakebread

When it comes to alcohol and health, does it matter what you drink? A new study has found a link between moderate red wine consumption and decreased levels of visceral fat, the tricky-to-lose “bad fat” that builds up with age and increases risk of heart disease and stroke. The study also found that while white

Natasha Hall was processing catastrophe insurance claims when she learned about the Roots Fund. In search of a new path, she reached out to the nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to helping minorities enter the wine industry, and now she works as an Atlanta-based wine writer. Hall was one of many Roots Fund scholars who

Oregon winemakers and grapegrowers are assessing the damage after a severe late frost struck Willamette Valley in recent days. The week of April 10 saw record-low temperatures—down to 26° F in some areas—just as the vineyards were starting budbreak. Frost isn’t uncommon in Oregon, but it typically strikes earlier in the season when vines are

Franco Allegrini, one of Northern Italy’s most influential winemakers, died April 23 at his home in the Valpolicella hills west of Verona, after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 66. Allegrini is remembered by friends and colleagues as a man who embodied a range of the best traits associated with Italy and the wine

Philanthropists and DuMol Winery owners Jeff and Laurie Ubben are opening a new Sonoma restaurant, Little Saint, on April 22 (Earth Day), working with well-known members of the Healdsburg dining community: chef Kyle Connaughton and Katina Connaughton, co-owners of Wine Spectator Grand Award winner SingleThread Farms, located just down the street. Little Saint is operated

Leave it to vintner Charles Smith to do something out of left field. Who else but an iconoclast like Smith would plant 373 acres of Pinot Noir in Washington, a state known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah? Smith believes the vineyard, named Golden West, is the largest planting of Pinot in the history of Washington.

Rapper, music producer and Champagne executive Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson returned to Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Auction and Dinner Feb. 27, dropping six figures on a bottle of Texas wine. That winning bid helped the annual Houston event, which supports Texas youth programs, raise $2.73 million, with $2.57 million of that coming from the live

Jackson Family Wines, the Sonoma-based firm behind Kendall-Jackson, La Crema, Penner-Ash and others, has purchased a 61-acre vineyard in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley. The company plans to develop a new Washington wine brand there, to be overseen by winemaker Chris Carpenter. Located in Mill Creek in an eastern section of Walla Walla, the vineyard was

On Saturday, April 9, Wine Spectator kicked off the world’s largest Italian wine fair, Vinitaly, with its signature tasting, OperaWine: Finest Italian Wines. It was the 11th edition of OperaWine, an annual event in partnership with Vinitaly and Veronafiere that takes place on the Saturday before the four-day Italian wine fair. The tasting brought together

In 1990, in hopes of controlling development in America’s premier wine region, Napa County legislators passed the Winery Definition Ordinance (WDO), legally defining “winery.” At that time, the board of supervisors couldn’t have foreseen the valley, 30 years later, being home to nearly 500 physical wineries and more than 1,800 licensed wine producers that range

On March 28, chef Mitsunobu Nagae opened his new restaurant, l’Abeille, in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, offering French cuisine in a 54-seat dining room. Following years at Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning destinations from Joël Robuchon in Tokyo and New York, as well as at Michelin-starred restaurants in France, l’Abeille is Nagae’s first solo venture as

Now going into its seventh week, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left millions displaced, hungry and in desperate need of help. Once again, José Andrés and World Central Kitchen have come to the rescue during a crisis, providing 5 million meals to Ukraine’s refugees and to those still suffering within the country’s borders. (The latter

Wine Spectator has learned that Constellation Brands, one of the world’s largest wine companies, has acquired Oregon’s Lingua Franca, the Willamette Valley producer founded by Master Sommelier Larry Stone. The deal includes the brand, winery, vineyards and inventory. The price was not disclosed. Lingua Franca’s winemaking team, led by Thomas Savre and French consultant Dominique

Americans are mad for the full diversity of fine Italian cuisine and wine, and for that they largely have restaurateur Tony May to thank. Best known as the man behind New York restaurants San Domenico, Palio and SD26, May passed away at age 84 on April 3 after a brief illness. The oldest of eight

Kosta Browne’s next chapter will include wines from Burgundy. This summer, the California Pinot Noir star will add five bottlings from France’s Burgundy region to its portfolio: 2020 Pinot Noirs from Beaune (a blend of Les Bressandes and Les Teurons), Gevrey-Chambertin, Pommard and Volnay ($125 each), plus a Chardonnay from Meursault ($120). “We’ve been dreaming

Ben Calais, founder and winemaker for Calais Winery in Hye, Texas, has a simple question: “Are we in the process of killing our vines slowly but surely?” Calais Winery is one of the dozens of Texas wineries and vineyards that have been impacted in recent years by herbicide drift from cotton fields in the High

Researchers from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine found evidence linking moderate alcohol consumption during meals with a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes. The team presented preliminary research at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference earlier this month. “The effects of alcohol consumption on health have

On March 9, the European Union imposed sanctions on Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky, 57, his wife, Galina, 56, and their son Alexander, 34, paving the way for the French government to freeze the oligarch’s assets, including the two French wineries he owns, Domaine Prieuré St.-Jean de Bébian in Languedoc and Domaine Ganevat in Jura. It

America’s newest wine appellation is all about coastal weather. When the backers of the San Luis Obispo Coast American Viticulture Area (AVA) assembled a petition for the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), they sourced data from 34 climate stations to help determine the now-approved appellation’s borders. The result is the most

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for acclaimed Alsace-born, New York-based chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who is expanding his restaurant group within the United States and to Japan and Monaco. Following a late 2021 entry into Nashville, he reopened Jean-Georges Philadelphia, a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner in the Four Seasons

More than two decades ago, Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken was granted a rare interview—the first and last of its kind—with the famously private Ernest Gallo, co-founder and chairman of what was then and continues to be among the world’s largest wine companies. The interview, at Gallo’s home in Modesto, Calif., nearly

As people once again enjoy traveling and mingling free from COVID restrictions, Wine Spectator looks forward to gathering with longtime readers and new friends at its annual Grand Tour tastings, and tickets for the three evening events are now on sale. After a highly successful run in late 2021 after a year off due to

A new study has added to the evidence that moderate wine drinking could protect your mind as you age. The report by researchers at Penn State University, Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions found that the consumption of flavonoids—polyphenolic compounds found in plant-based foods, including grapes and wine—could lower mortality