Wine

Anyone who has spent time in Napa has likely been in a Howard Backen-designed building. The prolific co-founder of Backen & Backen Architecture designed upwards of 300 private homes, 40 restaurants and more than 60 wineries, many of which are located in Napa Valley. His signature farmhouse-chic style champions functionality and natural harmony, favors discreet

Who’s behind it: César is the new namesake restaurant from chef César Ramirez, who formerly led the kitchen of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (a past Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winner). Ramirez also previously worked at Grand Award winners the French Laundry and Le Bernardin, as well as at the late David Bouley’s Danube. “[It]

The Ferragamo family, owners of the luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo and the winery and hotel Il Borro, in Tuscany’s Valdarno di Sopra southeast of Florence, are expanding into the Brunello business. The family just closed a deal to buy the Pinino estate in Montalcino. The sale includes 40 acres of vineyards (with almost 19

Does wine add something special to your life? A way to connect with friends and family, a chance to travel the world without even leaving the table, a reason to head out of town to explore other regions, countries or cultures? Share why you love wine by submitting your short video to Wine Spectator’s 18th

For many wine aficionados, sharing a glass or two with someone they love is one of life’s great pleasures. That can be especially true with a spouse or partner. A new study, led by researchers at the University of Michigan and published in February in The Gerontologist, says that when both partners in a couple drink

Few Napa wineries have the history of Beaulieu Vineyard. In 1900, Georges de Latour founded the winery when he purchased a four-acre vineyard in Rutherford. His wife Fernande commented “Quelle beau lieu” upon first seeing the land, meaning “what a beautiful place.” Over the next two decades, Latour acquired land holdings throughout Napa Valley, including

The owners of Carlisle, California’s leading producer of quality Zinfandels, will call it quits after the 2024 vintage, Wine Spectator has learned. Co-founders Mike and Kendall Officer informed their wine club members of their decision today. “It was a decision that was a long time in coming,” Mike Officer, 62, said. “Financially, Carlisle is doing

Who’s behind it: Restaurateurs Stefano Secchi and David Switzer co-own Manhattan’s acclaimed Rezdôra, in the Flatiron District, which earned a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in the 2024 Restaurant Awards. After more than a year of planning, they expanded by opening a new Italian restaurant, Massara, on Broadway, around the corner from Rezdôra’s

Reviews of recent releases from the first-growth châteaus of Bordeaux—Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, Latour and Mouton-Rothschild—have been conspicuously absent from the pages of Wine Spectator. In a free-ranging discussion between legendary Bordeaux and Napa winemaker Christian Moueix and Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, the reasons are laid clear. During a recent lengthy

Who’s behind it: Il Ristorante Alain Ducasse is a new endeavor from celebrated French-born, Monégasque chef Alain Ducasse, who owns Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Paris, among other leading restaurants. This is Ducasse’s first restaurant in Italy, and it is located on the ninth floor of the Romeo

Restaurants are not only thriving, but reinvesting in themselves and their future, not just in the obvious ways, but also by deepening their relationships with winemakers near and far. And those bonds are reflected in their carefully assembled wine lists. For proof, take a look at our newly revealed list of more than 3,700 restaurants

A few days after winemaker Meghan Zobeck started her new job at Napa’s historic Burgess Cellars, the winery burned down in the Glass fire. With the help of owner Gaylon Lawrence and CEO Carlton McCoy, not only did Burgess bounce back, but Zobeck’s followup 2021 Cabernets are outstanding. She tells us about the NFL career that

Wine lists are a labor of love, reflecting passion at every level—from the winemakers to the sommeliers to the restaurant owners. Hard work goes into curating wine selections that align with the restaurant’s cuisine, pricing and atmosphere, as well as the desires of all its customers. It takes a special level of dedication for a

Washington’s Ste. Michelle Wine Estates continues to divest itself of wineries and brands. Wine Spectator has learned that Tuscany’s Marchesi Antinori has purchased sole ownership of Col Solare, a premium Washington winery the two companies launched as a 50-50 partnership in 1995. The sale includes the brand, a winery and 29 acres of vines. The

Terry Robards, a longtime reporter and wine writer for The New York Times who later served as a columnist for Wine Spectator, died last month at the age of 84. The cause was heart failure. Robards wrote his best-known works between the 1960s and 1980s, at a time when many Americans were just discovering wine.

Stoked by warm temperatures and windy conditions, several wildfires broke out in California over the weekend, including one in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, northwest of Healdsburg. The Point Fire ignited on the eastern shores of Lake Sonoma the afternoon of June 16 and quickly spread, nearing wineries and vineyards along West Dry Creek Road. As

Who’s behind it: Catch Miami Beach is the eighth restaurant from Catch Hospitality Group and co-owners Tilman Fertitta (the owner of hospitality leader Landry’s, Inc.), Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm. It joins Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning Catch locations in Las Vegas and New York, as well as Catch Steak locations in New York, Aspen, Colo.,

Where can you find more than 250 of the world’s greatest winemakers, plus some of the titans of fine dining, all in one place for an entire weekend? Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience is returning to Times Square Oct. 17-19, and tickets are now on sale for weekend packages that offer wine lovers 3

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits chairman Harvey Chaplin, a self-made entrepreneur who turned a modest Florida spirits and wine distributorship into a national, multibillion-dollar powerhouse, passed away Sunday, June 9, of natural causes at the age of 95. “Harvey was undoubtedly one of the great pioneers and visionaries in our industry,” said Marvin R. Shanken,

Winemaker Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and owner of Arcadia Vineyards, has died at the age of 96. In 1970, Winiarski purchased a 50-acre fruit orchard and ranch in Napa Valley and began planting Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. He started making wine from those plantings, along with some existing Petite Sirah vines,