Perhaps no other soil holds as much appeal to terroir-focused wine drinkers as Kimmeridgian limestone. It's a key ingredient in all the Grands Crus of Chablis and many of the greatest Champagnes of the Côtes des Blancs. You also find it in Sancerre.

Madeira is a wine of history, made by mistake and crafted by circumstance. With the ability to last for hundreds of years, sometimes it is, quite literally, bottled history. It’s a region whose great fortune was mirrored in its near extinction. Now these singular wines and their makers are experiencing a resurgence into the hearts and glasses of wine drinkers on the hunt for the authentic.

To get a better look at the terrors of Sancerre, there's no better place to start than the flinty soils (aka "silex") on the eastern edges of Sancerre. This Q&A should give you a good idea what Sancerre on Silex is all about!

Over the last several decades, the name Sancerre has become synonymous with premium dry white wine, making it the safe choice for consumers with no other requirements. As such, it's become one of wine's greatest hits, a wine region with nearly unparalleled brand recognition and customer devotion. This is fair, as virtually any Sancerre is taut, articulate, and often of reliably good quality.

How to use this guide: 

1. Read the previews of each blog post.

2. Click the title links to read the entire post. 

3. Become an expert in the Northern Rhone. 

4. Follow the links in each post to purchase some NR wines. 

5. Become a lover of the Northern Rhone.

(It's that easy!)

For years, Cornas was just another “value” village of the Northern Rhone, with a reputation more like St. Joseph, say, than Cote Rotie or Hermitage. It was deemed “rustic” and a source for “country” wine. Things have changed!

This is a story of a vicious cycle finally flipping a switch to become virtuous.

Whether you're trying to please a crowd of 50 co-workers, impress a new friend, or show your appreciation to a gracious host, buying wines for a party can be tricky! Peruse this list of wines, which is organized by occasion, to find the right wine for you!

Hermitage may be the greatest wine made from Syrah anywhere in the world. In this post, Jeff takes a close look at Hermitage, focusing on everything from its history and terroir, to its vineyard sites, top producers and more.

We want to take a moment, as the holiday weekend dawns on us, to talk with you about how to organize an at-home tasting! There's no better way to experience wine than with friends. And there's no better time than...you guessed it....NOW!

What gives rosé wines their pink color?

Rosé is usually made with red-wine grapes, which have pigment in their skins.

All the color in rosé wines come from the skins of those grapes.  (We’ll talk more about wine making later in this post.)

Well, is Rosé more like white wine or red wine?

While the color of rosé wines can run the gamut from almost white to light red, people tend to drink them more like white wines than red wines. We drink rosé with a chill (the exact serving temperature depends, as with red and white wines, on all the particulars). Like white wine, many rosés are perfect for outdoor, hot day drinking: that’s why they’re mainstays of seaside vacations.

 

Eric Asimov’s latest post, "Everyday Wines: The Most Important Bottles You Will Drink," at his New York Times Blog, The Pour, is a gem.

And I’m not saying that just because he said to “find a good wine shop” with a link to his article saying that “[i]nstitutions like Chambers Street Wines, Flatiron Wines & Spirits and Crush Wine & Spirits in New York are great for expert and novice alike, and they serve a nationwide clientele.” No, this has nothing to do with validation in the National Press…

It’s because Eric has, once again, nailed how we actually drink wine. His eight tips are spot on and we’d recommend you read them.  Here is a helpful link to read it now.

Back in November, as a part of Flatiron Wines’ educational series, I hosted a class entitled ‘Burgundy:  On The Level’. In it we discussed the levels of complexity and detail to Burgundy and its Crus.