Wine Explain

A luxurious Napa Valley hotel is swapping one winemaking proprietor for another. Wine Spectator has learned that Juan Pablo Torres-Padilla, owner of Sullivan Rutherford Estate and CEO of PA Capital Management, has bought Poetry Inn in the Stags Leap District from the Lede family of Cliff Lede Vineyards. The purchase price was not disclosed. “As

Three hundred-acre estates are hard to come by in Napa Valley, so when one comes on the market, you might think that finding a new steward comes down to the highest bid. But when Kelly Fleming decided to sell her property and winery, she opted for the neighbor who would agree to keep it in

Burgundy’s wines are not cheap, and inventories are carefully monitored. Last year, the team at Maison Albert Bichot began to notice bottles were disappearing from their Beaune cellar. Somehow the wine was walking out the cellar door without anyone noticing—a few bottles here, a few bottles there, like a slow, sporadic drip. So the staff

Decades of research has linked light to moderate drinking, especially of wine, to a range of health benefits. There’s also strong scientific evidence that any alcohol consumption raises the risk of certain cancers, and that heavy drinking carries serious health risks. But the reasons why moderate drinking seems to be neutral or beneficial for some

In the latest development in what has proved to be one of the nastiest divorce battles to involve custody of a wine property, the Milan-based Campari Group has been drawn into the battle for Château Miraval. A new lawsuit by Nouvel, the company that Angelina Jolie sold to the Stoli Group, demands records from Campari

Who’s behind it: Celebrated chef John Fraser—best known for veggie-forward, Mediterranean-inspired dishes—has arrived in Boston with beef on his mind at the newly opened Vermilion Club. Fraser’s collection of Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners spans the country, from Ardor in Los Angeles to North Fork Table and Inn on New York’s Long Island. Vermilion Club

Americans are being more cost-conscious when it comes to their bubbly, according to a report from Wine Spectator sister publication Shanken News Daily (SND). Champagne sales have been declining in the U.S. market, while Prosecco has been growing. Champagne had been enjoying big gains in recent years in the U.S., with exports to America up

California winemaker Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is voluntarily delisting from the Nasdaq, as the company has been unable to engineer a turnaround after months of turmoil. The Sonoma-headquartered company went public with a $600 million IPO in 2021, led by longtime chief executive Pat Roney. Its share price

Straight from the cover of Wine Spectator and the season 3 premiere of The Bear, legendary chef Daniel Boulud invites us into the Daniel dining room for an exclusive interview about what it means to be a chef today, his legacy of mentorship and why his next restaurant will reflect a shift in allegiance since

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