Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2024 i Wine Enthusiast Magazine

I've recently become very interested in gardening. The hobby’s appeal has evaded me for many years. But after discovering its innumerable health benefits, I’ve become fascinated with the notion of digging in the dirt. In a recent Wine Enthusiast podcast about Blue Zones, areas of the world where people have longer life expectancies, Dan Buettner credits the practice of gardening as one of the many reasons people are living some of the longest, happiest lives on the planet. (He also mentions consuming a little wine almost daily can bring a similar benefit, which is a theory I heartily support.) Another study reads that touching earth, or “grounding,” as the wellness community calls it, has been shown to improve sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress, speed wound healing and more in…

Walking through Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, amid the stainless-steel vessels, sacks of raw ingredients and other modern brewing conveniences, you’ll pass a wooden pallet stacked with granite pavers. The rocks are not there for an upcoming patio project, but rather to be super-heated, added to a brew kettle and used to make stein beer. The act of brewing with rocks is nothing new. The human fascination with fire has smoldered on for a mega-annum, using it for warmth, cooking, protection and waging war. The earliest brewers found that heating sweet liquid and allowing it to cool and be inoculated with natural yeast would create beer. Fire-heated rocks added to a pot allowed for the needed robust boil. As brewing technologies and safety protocols have advanced, so-called stein beers fell…

Maybe you learned this in middle school. But when was the last time you really stopped to think about the surface of the planet you’re standing on? The Earth’s top layer is not one solid piece, but multiple interlocking tectonic plates. And these pieces don’t exactly fit together neatly or sit still, but rather are in constant motion, sliding under one another or dragging along each other causing earthquakes, plumes of steam and magma and, of course, volcanic eruptions. And where those plates collide (in red) just happens to be in places that make some of the most interesting wine in the world.…

If you walk into a bar or restaurant and it serves one Greek wine, odds are it’s an Assyrtiko. To raise the stakes, you can bet dollars to dolmas that it’s an Assyrtiko from Santorini, the grape’s volcanic homeland in the Aegean Sea. It’s a surprisingly safe wager. Despite the fact that Greece has some 300 indigenous wine grapes, and even though only 3% or so of the country’s 64,000 hectares of vineyards are planted to Assyrtiko, Santorini’s hometown hero is the most prominent Greek wine in the United States. Big-city sommeliers praise its food-friendliness and aging potential. The staunchest advocates claim that, in a blind tasting, wine experts might misidentify Santorini Assyrtiko as Grand Cru Chablis (le gasp). Few things in wine are certain, including which grapes or…

People scrambled to buy masks. An airborne contaminant threatened the grape harvest while closing schools and businesses. But this wasn’t 2020, with its double whammy of COVID-19 and wildfires. This was 1980 after Mount St. Helens blew its top at 8:32 a.m. on Sunday, May 18. Mike Sauer, who planted his first vines at Red Willow Vineyard in Wapato, Washington, in 1973, was at church with his family that morning. He remembers walking outside to a horizon of ominous dark clouds. “As we drove home, I could see the ash coming up behind the car,” Sauer says. On that morning, Mount St. Helens covered over 22,000 square miles to its northeast with 540 million tons of ash. Agrimanagement Inc., an agriculture consulting company in Yakima, estimated that a half-inch…

RED WINES 92 Zisola 2020 Achilles (Sicilia). The nose is a summer barbecue, as hot, slightly acrid aromas of smoke, tar and meat play with lighter blackberry, violet and mint undertones. On the palate, the balance between meatiness and berry sweetness continues, while imposing tannins and searing acid keep everyone in check until a swirling mocha finish. Demeine Estates. —D.C. abv: 14.5% Price: $50 91 MandraRossa 2021 Frappato (Terre Siciliane). The nose starts lightly floral, with aromas of strawberry and hibiscus, but quickly dives into the earthy sanguinity of soil and bricks. The slightly astringent fruit flavors continue on the palate, while a vegetal undertone accentuates the earth tones before a salty, acidic, hot finish. Palm Bay International. Best Buy. —D.C. abv: 13% Price: $20 90 Alessandro di Camporeale…

Italy is rich with terroir, but none has captured the palates of wine lovers quite the same way as those surrounding volcanos. Volcanic soils create distinct wine but also capture the imagination: glowing rivers of lava flowing down Mt. Etna or the tragic history of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius in Campania. Then there is the lesser-known Alto Piemonte, a collection of small wine appellations in the shadow of the Alps. This tiny region has only 1,500 acres of vines planted across 10 appellations with Nebbiolo as its star. Over the past decade, there has been one champion telling its story, Cristiano Garella, whose passion, vitality and tireless work have helped reignite the region’s profile. To best understand the region, Garella starts at the beginning: “Alto Piemonte was the site…

The act of soil creation is one of constant destruction. Material melted in Earth’s mantle erupts through holes, fissures and formations in a slipping and sliding surface, cools and is broken down into ever finer soil, which contains the nutrients a plant, such as a grapevine, needs to survive. It’s almost as if Bacchus himself coordinated this dance, directing geysers of molten lava to form hills, valleys, bowls, benches. And eventually, sometimes, they become vineyards. “Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction.”–Pablo Picasso Surely, when Picasso said those words, he was not thinking of the eons of cataclysmic upheaval that formed the Earth billions of years ago. However, his sentiment still rings true: The old must be transformed (or destroyed) to create something new. Our planet…

Recently, I had the chance to taste a soon-to-be released Soave wine with a retail price of more than $900 a bottle. It was poured from an unlabeled bottle in the tasting room of Inama winery by winemaker Matteo Inama. He and his father, Stefano, sat back—amid poster-sized maps of Soave Classico and displays of its famed volcanic soils—and awaited my reaction. We’d already tasted the new vintage of I Palchi, their current top-end wine, made from micro-parcels selected from 50-year-old vines grown in the volcanic soil of Foscarino, among Soave’s most famous crus. I Palchi, at over $60, is already one of the most expensive wines from the region. But this new “off-the-record” release was something else entirely. Matteo Inama told me they’d shown the wine to the…

Hailstorms in France, wildfires in California, climate change globally. Such variables directly affect the quality of vintages around the world. Wine Enthusiast reviewers update the vintage chart annually to reflect such factors and indicate the average quality and drinkability of vintage-dated wines to help you know which to buy and when to enjoy them. The ratings are broad indications, however, so be aware that many wineries make excellent wines in lower-rated years. Visit wineenthusiast.com/ratings to search for specific reviews on current and past vintages and discover our top-scoring wines, including Hidden Gems, Best Buys, Editors’ Choice and Cellar Selections. WINE ENTHUSIAST A General Guide to the Quality & Drinkability of the World’s Wines United States Southern Hemisphere Download the 2024 Vintage Chart at wineenthusiast.com/wine-vintage-chart Europe GREAT OLDER VINTAGES FRANCE…

90 Baraky Japanese Whisky (Japan; Tri-Vin Imports, New Rochelle, NY). This is a blend of whiskies made with barley and rye, aged on average two to three years. The result is a honey hue and slightly nutty aroma. The palate opens with hints of coconut and sandalwood, winding into a drying, lively finish with toasted almond, cigar wrapper and a faint waft of cigar smoke. Best Buy. abv: 40% Price: $35/700 ml 96 Belvedere 10 Vodka (Poland; Moët Hennessy USA, New York, NY). The latest and most luxe addition to the Belvedere line is distilled from organic rye and presented in a tall, angular white tower. The liquid within is light, soft and mostly neutral, with a faint sweetness that hints at lychee or rosewater. Pink peppercorn sparks on…

On August 4, 2023, the Long Valley-Lake County American Viticultural Area (AVA) was born. California’s newest government-approved viticultural area was most decidedly a labor of love, but it ultimately earned AVA status thanks to its unique terroir and, specifically, its distinctive soils that include volcanic rock. “Everyone in what became the AVA was all-in when we began the application process,” says Joy Merrilees, vice president of Shannon Family of Wines, one of the handful of wineries in the newly minted AVA. “We spent a lot of time collecting data on the weather, soil types, growing degree days, all in an effort to document what makes Long Valley-Lake County different than the other sub-AVAs around it and the larger Lake County AVA that it is set in.” The area includes…

POLLO AL SALMOREJO CANARIO Traditionally made with rabbit, this classic dish of the Canary Islands adapts well to chicken. Rasa Strankauskaite, wine director at La Laguna Gran Hotel in San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife, says, “By marinating the meat for a whole day, it ends up with a texture and flavor almost similar to a very light pickle.” 2 ½ cups dry white wine½ cup white or red wine vinegar8 cloves garlic1 bay leaf1 tablespoon smoked paprika (pimentón)1 teaspoon ground cumin1 teaspoon dried thyme1 teaspoon dried oregano1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt½ teaspoon cayenne1 whole chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces3 tablespoons olive oilChopped parsley, for garnish In a blender, place 1 cup of the wine, the vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, cumin, thyme,…

When we talk about coffee beans grown in volcanic soil, we conjure an entire set of almost primordial growing conditions: mineral-rich, rocky terrain set at high altitude, the peak shrouded in mist and regular heavy rainfall. Beans grown in far-flung places where you half expect to see King Kong peeking out from behind a craggy rock formation have long been prized. Legacy volcanic regions, such as Kona and Jamaica Blue Mountain, are well-known, but areas from Costa Rica to Indonesia also produce highly sought-after coffee grown on high hillsides of volcanos. Atlanta-based Volcanica Coffee Company, founded in 2004 by Maurice Contreras (now joined by his son Aaron), imports beans from 40 different countries around the world, focusing on volcanic soil. The elder Contreras learned about quality coffee beans while…

You’ve no doubt seen the word “minerality” at least a few times as you’ve flipped through this issue. Wines made from vines planted in volcanic soil often bring forth descriptors of minerality or mineral-driven as shorthand for aromas, flavors and textures that might be salty, savory, stony, edgy—or otherwise not fruits, flowers, herbs or spices. It’s often used to describe tastes and sensations that are slightly more challenging or ineffable to pin down. Of course, any use of the M word also means plenty of eye-rolling among certain types of wine people. But why? Why is the simple mention of minerality so divisive within the wine world? Other than terroir, is there any term that carries with it as much baggage? Before we can answer that question, we must…

“Each teaspoon of dirt is teeming with millions and millions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes,” says Sam Kaplan, winemaker of Arkenstone Vineyards in Napa Valley, which has been organically farmed on Howell Mountain’s volcanic soils since the winery’s inception in 1988. Indeed, no matter where you are, if you reach down and scoop up a handful of earth, you’re not just holding dirt. You have in the palm of your hand a vast collection of microscopic organisms. These microbes, particularly fungi, made it possible for plants to evolve to inhabit a once inhospitable Earth some 500 million years ago. Fast forward to today, and they still play a vital role in plant life. One “we’ve only just begun to understand,” says David Montgomery, professor of geomorphology at the…

Chile boasts the highest number of active volcanos among all South American countries. In fact, most of its main winegrowing regions feature soils composed of volcanic material originating from eruptions that occurred millions of years ago. The country is narrow, defined by two distinct geological features—the Coastal and Andes mountain ranges that both run from north to south along the western and eastern edges, respectively. Their origin and that of the many volcanos that exist in Chile is due to the subduction of the denser Nazca Plate underneath the South American Plate (see page 44). “As a result, the Coastal Cordillera rose,” explains Chilean geologist Eder González. “The Nazca plate continues subducting, making magma and gas that form and feed the volcanos of the Andes.” The movement of these…

RED WINES BROUILLY 90 Pierre-Marie Chermette 2022 Pierreux (Brouilly). This is a fun, fit and fruity Brouilly. Deep purple in color, this wine has an aromatic nose of red cherry, black plum, boysenberry, strawberry and hibiscus. A combination of generous fruit and floral flavors swim along the palate. Weygandt-Metzler. —R.S. abv: 13% Price: $28 90 Robert Perroud 2022 Pollen En Saburin (Brouilly). This Brouilly is deep purple in color with an aromatic nose of rose hip, dried violet petals, black plum and red cherry. Florality on the nose continues through to the end of the taste with slightly grippy tannin making itself known on the finish. New Wave Wine Co. —R.S. abv: 13% Price: $25 MOULIN-À-VENT 92 Yohan Lardy 2022 Les Michelons (Moulin-à-Vent). This is a complex and floral…

Like all good slightly satanic origin stories, Doommersive (formerly Doom Tiki) started with a response to a prayer. Doom Tiki was the original name of my company, which throws cocktail pop-ups with purpose—a wish for transformation that began in an act of healing brought about by anger. In June 2019, I was a brand ambassador for Thomas Henry mixers and I found myself in Wildwood, New Jersey, for Tiki by the Sea: a trade-focused educational and immersive cultural experience into the “culture,” spirits and drinks of the tiki era. I was able to sit in on one of the seminars and the speaker chose to start with a “tiki prayer.” Something in me snapped. I’m from California in the truest sense of the word. That means going to theme…