Bottle Shock

France's strangest winemaker gives us gold

Andrea Calek is surely one of France's most exciting young winemakers, though he hardly looks the part. With his wild, unkempt hair and his torn, secondhand clothes, Calek is as...

Caramel Color

All you need after dinner is Madeira

Come meal's end, we can't think of a better drink than Madeira. At its best, the famed fortified wine startles with deep caramel notes and refreshing acidity--precisely the...

Try, Try Again

A new website lets you sample wine before you buy

When it comes to wine, all the reviews and ratings in the world can't replace an old-fashioned taste test as the measuring stick for purchases. But trekking to a Napa vineyard to...

Staying Power

Bargain summer whites that stick around past Labor Day

Muscadet--a crisp French white from the western Loire Valley--has long been a summertime favorite thanks to its inexpensive, crowd-pleasing, warm-weather-loving nature. Come fall,...

Natural Born

Meet the avant-garde of the American natural-wine movement

The jury is still out on an accepted definition of natural wine--which, beyond employing wild yeast fermentation and some combination of organic or biodynamic farming, is hard to...

Label Makers

The grapes are greener in Oregon

With most wine, so much happens between vineyard and wine shop that it's hard to ascertain whether the wine is eco-friendly by simply looking at the label. But now it's easier to...