Wine

French-Swiss real-estate investor Jacky Lorenzetti has purchased Bordeaux’s Château Lafon-Rochet from the Tesseron family for an undisclosed sum. The St.-Estèphe fourth-growth is Lorenzetti’s fourth classified growth in Bordeaux’s Médoc region. “When you have already invested in St.-Estèphe and Pauillac, and a bank offers you an opportunity to buy an estate like Lafon-Rochet, you don’t say

Following his February departure from Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Canlis, Seattle chef Brady Williams will open his own restaurant in the city’s White Center neighborhood Sept. 9. Called Tomo, it will feature à-la-carte weekend lunches and prix-fixe dinner menus of five courses for $68, including a vegetarian option. The cuisine carries a similar ethos

From local grocery stores in Maine to giant wine retailers in Los Angeles, Kendall-Jackson wines can be found on shelves across the country. That makes Jackson Family Wines’ proprietor and chairman Barbara Banke an influential figure in a rapidly changing industry. Banke took over Jackson Family’s enormous range of wines after her husband, founder Jess

Paso Robles-based Justin Vineyards and Winery is acquiring Napa’s Lewis Cellars, Wine Spectator has learned. The price was not disclosed. The deal includes the brand, winery and inventory. Justin, owned by the Resnick family’s Wonderful Company, a large farming firm that owns brands like Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful, will provide a marketing and sales

What does your gut say about your heart? According to new research, nutritional scientists found that the trillions of microbes that live in our digestive tract, collectively known as the gut microbiome, are partly responsible for the association between moderate wine consumption and lower blood pressure. Although previous studies have shown the benefits of a

When it comes to wine, very few can match DLynn Proctor‘s experience and style. The veteran sommelier and director of Napa’s Fantesca Estate & Winery is perhaps best recognized for his appearance in the Somm films and his work as associate producer on Netflix’s feature film Uncorked. But his 20-year career includes leadership roles with

A cozy new wine bar is now open in Los Angeles’ Beverly Grove neighborhood. Melanie Wine Bar debuted Aug. 17 from Andy Paxson and Dave Gibbs, the restaurateurs behind Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner Sushi Note in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The owners previously had a different restaurant in the space called Simple Things, but

A little over a week after a United Nations panel issued a stark report on the rapid pace of climate change, one of the world’s most influential wine companies, California-based Jackson Family Wines, announced a 10-year plan to help fight climate change and pursue other broad environmental and social responsibility goals. It’s one of the

A devastating wildfire has swept through parts of the Var region in Provence, leaving winegrowers reeling from the loss of buildings, equipment and grapes just days before the 2021 harvest. “It’s been annus horribilis for French winegrowers. We’ve had frost, we’ve had hail and now wildfires,” Eric Pastorino, president of the regional trade group Conseil

Becky Wasserman, founder of Le Serbet and Becky Wasserman & Co., died Aug. 20 of a respiratory illness. She had suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for several years, according to her family. She was 84. An innovator and entrepreneur, Wasserman championed small growers from around France, but particularly Burgundy, where she lived beginning in

Big bids were at the center of the V Foundation Wine Celebration this past weekend. The 23rd annual event grabbed a spot as one of the top charity wine auctions in the country, raising $12 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The V Foundation, started in 1993 by late North Carolina State University

Medical research has repeatedly found links between moderate alcohol consumption and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke and heart valve issues. But doctors have also long advised patients that are suffering from cardiovascular disease to refrain from drinking. Now recent research suggests that moderate consumption of alcohol, including wine, could prove

Backed with experience in some of the world’s top restaurants including Wine Spectator Grand Award winners Eleven Madison Park, the Little Nell and Canlis, chef Austin Johnson and sommelier Dustin Wilson debuted their highly anticipated One White Street this month. Set in a longstanding three-story townhouse in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood, the dual concept consists

Mark Tarlov, who produced movies for directors like John Carpenter, Sidney Lumet and John Waters before founding Evening Land and other wineries in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Central California, died July 31 at his home in New York after battling cancer. He was 69. “He was brilliant and inspiring and a visionary,” said Larry Stone,

On Aug. 3, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that customers of restaurants and bars (as well as gyms and movie theaters) would be required to provide proof of vaccination to be served indoors. The mandate, so far the only one of its kind in the nation, officially goes into effect Aug. 16,

For several decades, scientific studies have found evidence that wine, cheese and coffee may all offer health benefits for your heart, when consumed in moderation. Recently, some researchers have questioned if these benefits have been exaggerated. But a new in-depth scientific review of recent research by a team at Italy’s University of Naples Federico II

Star chef José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup has arrived in Chicago. The group debuted an all-day casual spot, Café by the River, in the West Loop neighborhood in June, followed by the opening of Andrés’ Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning concept, Jaleo, in the city’s River North neighborhood on July 15. The group plans to open three additional

Caleb Ganzer, wine director and co-owner of the popular New York City restaurant La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, has been arrested and charged with arson for allegedly setting fire to garbage and to outdoor dining structures outside other restaurants in lower Manhattan in three separate incidents this year. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has charged

Drought, fire and smoke, earthquake and a deadly pandemic—Northern California wine country has faced a series of calamities worthy of the Old Testament in recent years. But even the Bible doesn’t warn about insurance companies. Insurance is the latest challenge facing California vintners. After the devastating Glass and LNU Lightning Complex fires of 2020, insurance

Two iconic wines of Bordeaux, châteaus Cheval-Blanc and Ausone, have withdrawn from the St.-Emilion classification, their decision reverberating through the region like a clap of thunder. June 30 was the last day to submit the lengthy applications necessary to be considered for the 2022 renewal of the rankings, which are typically reviewed once a decade.