Press

When you first “get into” wine, you develop your own signature set of gripes. Things that never used to irk you when you were a normal consumer, but once you’ve spent enough time in the minutia of it all, you can’t help but be obnoxious about. For me, two personal pet peeves come to mind: first, incorrectly pronouncing the word sommelier (suh·muhl·yay, not suh-mawl-ee-yay) and second, asking a waiter if a wine is dry and nothing else.

For occasions like a day that spotlights sweets, a special bottle of sweet wine might be the perfect ending.

Dust off the decanter, make some room in the fridge, get out your corkscrew and stemware (or even your juice glasses), and get ready to pop some corks. It’s a new year and we’re eager to dive into the world of red wine — trying new bottles and revisiting some old favorites from the last year of tastings.

The best bottles are not the ones that meet certain technical standards. They tell unforgettable stories and create enduring images.

2022 was the warmest year ever recorded in most of Germany’s wine-producing regions, and the summer of 2022 was both hot and extremely dry. Although there was some good rain at the end of June, almost no rain fell between July 1 and Sept. 1. By early September, vineyard soils were dryer than at any time in living memory.

Riesling has always been a divisive variety for wine drinkers. Many revere the grape for its laser-like acidity and ability to age, whereas some hesitate to give Riesling a shot because of its sweet reputation. It’s true that many examples contain varying levels of residual sugar — and that’s not a bad thing — but an increasing number of dry, mineral-driven Rieslings are also hitting the market from an array of regions. All of these wines deserve your attention.

We rated 706 wines from nine countries for our latest Weekly Tasting Report, with James personally involved in the tastings and ratings of a number of the top wines, mainly anything that wasn’t German. This was due to the weeklong trip James took to Spain with his wife, Marie, and Senior Editor Zekun Shuai.