Santa Barbara County is a wine region that established itself slowly, over time. Today, it is worthy of international attention for the great wines being produced by several generations of talented winemakers.

In 1782, Junípero Serra ordered wine grapes planted at what would become Mission Santa Barbara in 1786. More vineyards followed, peaking at about 45 plots, 260 total acres, and 17 winemakers in the late 19th century…

Value is relative, especially in Burgundy. Wines from Burgundy are pricey, and there are no winds of change. Not even the relatively recent surge of the dollar helped.

Why are these wines expensive? High demand and relative scarcity play a significant role. Burgundy’s wines are made in small quantities, mostly by wine domaines (93% of production) that are often very small and usually family…

These days, you don’t have to subscribe to Decanter magazine to read about the wine business. Even the pages of Vogue boast articles glamorizing the work of beverage professionals. Yet while these portrayals have improved readers’ understanding of the industry, they leave something to be desired. Counting bottles until the wee hours of the morning is not what most people have in mind when they imagine the work of…

Detroit to us who live here means Metro Detroit, inclusive of the suburbs and townships within a couple hours’ drive. Maybe it even means Michigan, considering the wine-producing culture in our state’s northwestern and southwestern reaches. As someone who’s been lucky enough to travel quite a bit, I’m always very happy to come back to what dependably feels like “the real world,” the Midwestern pulse of America.…

The region of Irpinia has no political lines to define, but culturally and geologically, it is distinct within Campania. Set off from the Mediterranean in the Apennine foothills, the DOCGs of Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, and Fiano di Avellino offer a treasure trove of indigenous grapes.

The different geological and climatological factors of these regions have long been known by locals, but only now are their effects beginning…

Juniper is the essence of gin, in both senses of the word: it is the defining feature and the primary flavoring agent. Gin has been with us for about 300 years, yet non-alcoholic beverages flavored with juniper go back thousands of years. The early use of juniper in beverages, typically in combination with other herbs, fruit, and sweeteners, had two aims. First, juniper’s strong flavor improved, or at least overshadowed…

Is there such a thing as terroir? Professor Mark Matthews of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology says no. He argues in his new book that terroir is a myth, without any scientific basis. I have a different belief. Terroir exists, and Napa Valley is the perfect testament to its reality. I lay out the case in my new book, Appellation Napa Valley: Building and Protecting an American Treasure.

I first learned…

In the first installment, we looked at what first made Tokaj a classic wine region, why it nearly disappeared, and how it’s reemerging today in a relevant way. This article will focus on how a new generation is embracing the appellation’s history and pedigree while also improving farming and winemaking, adjusting to new wines laws, and aiming for high quality across the board.

Tokaj, like the other 21 appellations…

Hungarians are chronic storytellers…

What is amaro? The best answer might be a paraphrase of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous definition of pornography: you know it when you taste it. Amaro can be defined simply—it’s the Italian word for bitter (plural: amari)—but the category of bitter liqueurs it represents is vast and undefined. And it’s about to become an even bigger feature of our lives.