Press

A truly versatile wine—one that pairs as harmoniously with tuna crudo as with steak—is a sommelier’s best friend. Confronted daily with the task of matching a table of diners with the right bottle to complement a wide range of flavors, the pros rely on wines that have a lot of flexibility and crowd appeal. Wine Spectator asked eight leading wine directors to share the wines they turn to when the menu selections—and wine drinkers’ palate preferences—run the gamut.

Last summer, floods inundated western Germany, killing nearly 200 people and devastating the Ahr Valley. Local winemakers whose vines were decimated raised money by selling “flood wines” – bottles whose labels were soiled by mud. The effort has raised $5 million to support the local industry, and raised awareness about winemaking in the region. Correspondent Seth Doane reports.

German street art star Hoker, hip-hop–rooted wine educator #asktoni, and Bergkloster winemaker Jason Groebe join forces for an unlikely cuvée.

The zero-proof wine market has come a long, long way in just a few short years, and it’s now ripe with interesting, complex-flavored options that promise to intrigue your palate just as much as their alcoholic counterparts.

One of the most important aspects of a sommelier’s job is leading wine tastings. More than just opening bottles and describing flavor profiles and pairings, leading a tasting is about facilitating an experience that gets attendees excited about the artistry behind the wine they’re drinking.

Given its heritage and the level of acclaim it enjoys in the wine trade and among critics, it’s perhaps surprising that German wine doesn’t enjoy a higher profile on the secondary market – but that’s beginning to change.

The cashew’s uniqueness starts on the tree, where what we know as the cashew is actually the seed of the much larger cashew fruit. Even stranger is that the cashew is in the same plant family as mangoes and poison ivy. When snacking on cashews or using them as the centerpiece of a dish, pull out some of their subtle flavors with the right wine.

Growing up in the Bronx, I didn’t see traditional wine culture. There was no wine on the bodega shelves, no swirlin’ and sniffin’ going down a Friday night. But the respect level was always there.