40 Under 40: America’s Tastemakers

Ian Brand, 32 Winemaker, Coastview Vineyards, Le P’tit Paysan, Monterey, CA After moving from Utah to California to pursue surfing, Brand found his real calling at Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz, where he was assistant winemaker from 2004– 2007. He has also been winemaker for Nicholson and Pierce Vine- yards and consults for various clients…

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The Rescue Paradox

It’s a sturdy vine, often happier growing as a freestanding bush than on a trellis. The grapes themselves are thick-skinned and durable. Plant it in a hot, dry climate, and you might not have to water it all summer long. Far from accumulating a massive payload of sugar, you may end up picking your torrid…

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Wineries to Watch 2016

At W&S, our tastings regularly turn up new talent, and we’re always happy to stumble across a winery whose wines seem just as accomplished as the stalwarts we know and love. Here are a dozen up-and-coming producers that sparked our attention with their recent releases—wineries we’ll be watching in the years to come. California | Skinner…

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Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2015

Champagne Roederer’s Cristal Rosé 2004 is the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships’ 2015 Supreme World Champion. There were 11 national champions and Trentodoc producer Ferrari collected a new award for Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year in recognition of the company’s achievement in collecting nine gold medals and seven best in class awards for…

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Off the Trail Exploring the Cabernets of Coombsville

For the first two days I toured Coombsville, an out of the way appellation-to-be just east of the town of Napa, I didn’t see the sun. I didn’t see the hills for which it is known, or the extinct volcano, Mt. George, which is usually visible from just about every vineyard parcel in the area.…

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Winemaker Talk: Andy Erickson

Andy Erickson, 40, was hired as winemaker at Napa Valley’s Screaming Eagle in 2006, when Jean Phillips, the founder of the winery that practically invented California cult Cabernet status, sold it after 20 years on the 54-acre Oakville estate. Erickson had the unenviable task of filling the shoes of Screaming Eagle winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett, but his…

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