Wine Reviews

Billionaire Koch Expects More Fake-Wine Lawsuits in 2010 I think of the past 10 years as the counterfeit-wine decade.

California Wine Shipments Fall First Time in 16 Years (Update1) California wine shipments fell in 2009 for the first time in 16 years as purchases in the U.K., the biggest export market, plunged during the global recession, according to researcher Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates.

Secretive ‘Lord of Wine’ Made Italy’s Best White: John Mariani I’ve been drinking wine with pleasure for a very long time and the jaw-dropping moments have been few and far between. Sometimes the wines I expected little of proved to be a revelation, which was the case when I had my first sip of Edoardo Valentini’s Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 30 years ago at a seafood restaurant in Italy.

Garlic, Pest-Eating Geese Guard Chile’s New Pinots: Elin McCoy “See those white bands around the vines? They’re soaked in garlic and oil,” says Chilean winemaker Matias Rios as I kneel down for a sniff. The pungent smell keeps fat insects called burritos from destroying pinot noir vines at Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery, the oldest in Chile.

For Wine in 2010 Expect Price Drops, Screwtops, Thirsty Chinese Not since the millennium folly in 1999 have I seen so much frenzy in the wine market.

‘Texas Boy’ Investor Can’t Resist Taste of New Argentine Winery Michael Brochu, chief executive officer of Global Market Insite Inc., is always looking for new investments. So when a friend called with an opportunity, Brochu was ready to listen.

Whisky Menorah, Insipid Kitty Put Weirdness in 2009 Wine World Every year, the world of wines and spirits produces great bottles, pleasant surprises and some thoroughly weird stories. This year, I’m happy to report, was no exception.

Elusive Monbousquet Tops List of White Bordeaux: John Mariani Bordeaux, famous for its magnificent red wines, also makes a few good whites. Not many rank with their better counterparts from Burgundy, yet the prices for some white Bordeaux match all but the most illustrious Grand Crus.

Jay-Z’s Bubbly, Pomerol Make My Top Wines of 2009: Elin McCoy In 2009, I spat out 5,000 wines in my quest for recommendable bottles. Far too many were boring or overpriced. So, in compiling my top 10 for this year, I picked those worth the bucks asked, whether legendary labels or exciting discoveries.

Crunch Cuts Top Champagne Prices on This List of Festive Bubbly If they’re lucky, Champagne makers will have flat sales this holiday season, after a year when revenue for many of the best-known labels dropped as much as 50 percent for non-vintage and up to 85 percent for the top cuvees.