Wine

One of Italian wine’s signature events—OperaWine: Finest Italian Wines—returned with a roar on April 1 in Verona, attracting close to 2,500 global wine professionals for a tasting of some of Italy’s great and historic wines. Developed by Wine Spectator in partnership with Vinitaly and Veronafiere, OperaWine comes on the eve of Verona’s massive four-day annual

Dick Erath, a pioneering winemaker and grower who helped lay the foundation for today’s thriving Willamette Valley wine industry, died March 29. He was 87. Erath had been in ill health in recent months and passed away in Vancouver, Wash., where he lived for many years. Erath was among a small group of like-minded wine

Silicon Valley Bank’s assets and liabilities have been bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust, a North Carolina–based bank that has been quietly growing over the last decade, now one of the 20 largest banks in the United States. First Citizens is taking on $110 billion in assets, $56 billion in deposits and $72 billion

Champagne Henriot has new owners … again. Six months after Artémis Domaines bought majority control of Maisons & Domaines Henriot, which included the Champagne house as well as Bouchard Père & Fils in Burgundy, William Fèvre in Chablis and Beaux Frères in Oregon, the Pinault family-owned firm has announced it will sell Champagne Henriot to

World Central Kitchen (WCK), the charitable organization founded by chef José Andrés that has served nearly 300 million meals to communities in need in more than 45 countries, has announced that Erin Gore will be taking the reins as chief executive officer. For almost four years, Gore has led WCK’s philanthropic relationships and development team,

After more than 17 years producing some of Tuscany’s most renowned wines in Bolgheri, Ornellaia winemaker Axel Heniz is going back to Bordeaux. Wine Spectator has learned that Lawrence Wine Estates has hired Heinz to serve as CEO of Château Lascombes. Partners Gaylon Lawrence and Carlton McCoy purchased the Margaux second growth six months ago.

Along with opening a new restaurant in White Plains, N.Y., and another in Manhattan, acclaimed chef-restaurateur David Burke has brought his flair to Rhode Island, his first location in the state. Earlier this month, Burke and David Burke Hospitality Management (DBHM) took over food and beverage operations at the Preserve Sporting Club & Residences in

The Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF) reached new heights in early February, as 675 wine lovers gathered in a tent outside the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón to bid on lots combining luxurious travel and culinary experiences with rare wines. The auction, which benefits the Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF), has firmly established itself as the

How do some of the world’s most successful chefs, somms and winemakers balance wine and health? Red Rooster chef-owner Marcus Samuelsson and Frasca somm-owner Bobby Stuckey join the latest episode of Straight Talk to share how they keep perspective—and keep fit. Host James Molesworth and Wine Spectator senior editor Kristen Bieler take a closer look at our Wine

On Thursday, March 9, a customer brought a single bottle of wine to the sales counter at Sherry-Lehmann, the legendary Manhattan wine and spirits shop. The sale was rung up by a rookie salesperson. Then the customer flashed a badge. He was an enforcement agent for the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA). Acting general

Bordeaux grapegrowers are planning to tear out almost 23,500 acres of vines—and they’re thrilled. After nine months of negotiations with local, regional and national government representatives, on March 1 the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) reached an agreement with Marc Fesneau, France’s minister of agriculture and food sovereignty, for financing the vine pull. These uprooting efforts

What more could a four-day festival packed with incredible dinners and tastings spotlighting some of the world’s most renowned chefs offer? How about a partnership with the world’s leading wine magazine? The Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival (PBFWF) has announced a joint venture with Wine Spectator, part of a plan to expand the growing

Burgundy’s second most famous charity auction is grabbing a lot more attention these days. On March 12, the 62nd edition of the Hospices de Nuits-St.-Georges auction will take place both online and at its usual location, Château du Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. This is the fourth year in a row that the Hospices has

On Feb. 17, the Quality Branded restaurant group opened Bad Roman at the Deutsch Bank Center (formerly the Time Warner Center) in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. With picturesque views over Central Park, the restaurant occupies the space formerly used by chef Marc Murphy’s Landmarc, which closed in 2019. It joins a celebrated portfolio, including sibling restaurants

Scientists collaborating across the globe have unlocked a new, astounding origin story for wine grapes, pushing back the domestication of Vitis vinifera, the grape species used for most winemaking, to more than 11,000 years ago. The findings suggest humans domesticated grapevines around the same time period they domesticated the first cereal plants. “The grapevine was

Two weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the North Island of New Zealand, residents are still assessing the destruction. The storm is already considered the costliest tropical cyclone on record in the Southern Hemisphere, with damages estimated to be upward of $8 billion. The cyclone, which killed at least 11 people, hit the farming and winegrowing

The world of prestige rosé is consolidating. Moët-Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of LVMH, has purchased a majority stake in the fast-growing Provence estate Château Minuty. Fourth-generation owners Jean-Etienne and François Matton will remain at the helm of the winery their family founded in Saint-Tropez in 1936. Minuty is credited with helping establish the

Chile’s firefighting efforts continue, nearly three weeks after hundreds of fires erupted in several Southern provinces, burning more than one million acres, destroying more than 2,100 homes and businesses, and killing at least 25 people. According to officials, dozens of uncontrolled fires are still burning in and around Concepicon province, which lies 350 miles south

If you’re looking for a fine wine pit stop during your travels, Best of Award of Excellence winner Wine Bar George—owned and led by Master Sommelier George Miliotes—now has a second location in Florida, at Orlando International Airport, in the Palm Court area of the new Terminal C. “[On our first day], five guys walked

Chef Charlie Palmer is closing his Aureole restaurant in Las Vegas, known for its Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning wine list and its four-story wine tower, where “wine angels” sailed on wires to retrieve bottles. A centerpiece of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino since it opened in 1999, Aureole has been a training ground for

Bordeaux’s struggling farmers are unimpressed with government proposals to help them with a crisis that is threatening their way of life. France’s agricultural minister has a plan to get rid of excess wine stocks across the nation, but without bigger changes, farmers will continue to face financial ruin. The source of the crisis is a

Where would we be without coffee and tea? Our favorite sources of caffeine spur productivity, social connection and pleasure, and their ritual importance makes them central to many cultures. Even better, they may be fueling longer lives and reduced disease risks for people who enjoy them. New research has linked coffee and tea to increased

Napa Valley winemaking iconoclast and Massican winery founder Dan Petroski pulls no punches in this hard look at the wine industry’s newest obstacles and trends. Host James Molesworth and Wine Spectator contributing editor Suzanne Mustacich look at the 2020 Bordeaux vintage and speak with Château Pichon Comtesse de Lalande director Nicolas Glumineau and CVBG president

Having been closed for several months, chef Michael Mina’s Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning Stripsteak in Las Vegas reopened Dec. 30 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, with a revamped menu and a new design. “We opened Stripsteak 17 years ago. In fact, it was my very first steakhouse!” Mina, the founder

Giuseppe Benanti, a forerunner for the rebirth of Sicily’s now thriving wine scene on Mount Etna, died Feb. 1. He was 78. “Pippo Benanti was a charismatic, visionary and ambitious winegrower,” said Alberto Aiello Graci, owner-winemaker of Graci winery. “He helped to set a glorious path for the wines of Etna, believing in their value from

A state of emergency was declared in southern Chile’s bucolic Ñuble and BioBio regions this morning as wildfires rage out of control, worsened by strong winds. The blazes broke out in Concepcion province after a record heatwave. At least four people are dead. The National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response reported 39 separate fires

Donald Hess, a businessman, art collector and a vintner on four continents, died at the age of 86 in Bern, Switzerland, on Jan. 30. Born in Switzerland in a family of brewers, Hess built a successful mineral water company before entering the wine industry in 1978 by purchasing 700 acres of vineyards in Napa Valley’s

Christian Moueix is the kind of man who has annual rainfall statistics memorized. “In Bordeaux, the average is 38 inches, with much less variation than Napa,” he detailed. “The past 25 years in Napa range from 8 to 63 inches.” It’s important for vintners—and not just Moueix, whose 134-acre Napa Valley property Napanook Vineyard is

Straight Talk kicks off 2023 with a star-studded trip to France’s Rhône Valley, a closer look at Port with two of the region’s biggest names, and Wine Spectator’s Value Wine of the Year for 2022. Host James Molesworth and senior editor Kristen Bieler share tales of their recent trip to France’s Rhône Valley, and we’re joined

With the opening of MaMou near New Orleans’ historic Louis Armstrong Park, wine lovers have a new go-to spot in the Lower French Quarter’s vibrant dining scene. Since November, the restaurant has been serving classic continental cuisine with local flair, true to executive chef Tom Branighan’s southern Louisiana roots. Branighan looks to provide a taste