THREE PRICE POINTS SUITED FOR ANY POCKETBOOK

Three decades ago, author and journalist George Taber turned the wine world on its head with his famous four paragraph Time magazine story on the Judgment of Paris . That story, often referred to as "the most significant news story ever written about wine" put California alongside the world's top wine regions and sparked a "who's better?" debate that rages to this day. Now Taber has turned his attention to the latest raging debate in the wine world: Corks.

Zillah, Washington State, 1994. I was completely disoriented. It was hot. I was standing in a dry, semi – desert terrain, but looking west, I saw glacier capped Mt. Rainier. The roads weren’t paved, the wineries badly marked. Tasting rooms consisted of folding tables in the corners of barrel rooms, or in the family rec room with 1970’s shag carpeting. Often, I had to ring an outdoor bell to bring someone in from the fields to pour tastes.

A legend in Napa Valley, Croatian born winemaker Mike Grgich has witnessed -and played a major role in- the transformation of Napa Valley from rural farm town to international wine superpower. His Chardonnays have been victorious at two of the most celebrated wine tastings in modern history. In 1976, the Chardonnay he crafted for Napa's Chateau Montelena beat the best wines France had to offer in the wine industry altering Judgment of Paris. A year later, he partnered with Austin Hills of the Hills Bros. Coffee family to launch Grgich Hills Cellar. The extraordinary winemaking continued as in 1980 Grgich Hills Chardonnay beat 221 other Chardonnays for first place in a blind tasting at The Great Chicago Showdown. The moniker "The King of Chardonnay" soon followed. I had the great fortune of chatting with Mike Grgich recently. What follows is his take on the past, present, and future of Napa Valley wine and Grgich Hills.

Washington Wines and Wineries Author Paul Gregutt It is hard to believe a person exists who has thought more deeply and comprehensively about Washington wine than wine writer Paul Gregutt . Based in Seattle, Gregutt wine writings appear in a slew of Washington publications including the Seattle Times, Yakima Herald-Republic, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Pacific Northwest Magazine, and the Spokane Spokesman-Review . He is also a Contributing Editor and the Northwest wine reviewer for Wine Enthusiast magazine. His new book, Washington Wines & Wineries – The Essential Guide , is the authoritative guide to Washington wine. I recently caught up with Paul to discuss the book and his views on Washington wines.

Italy is known for many unique and delicious wines. This column has examined many of them. Up until now, however, we have ignored the topic of dessert wines. Many great dessert wines are made in all parts of Italy. Perhaps the most famous and renowned is Vin Santo. The name Vin Santo literally...

Happy January! The snow’s on the ground and the ice is on the roads, and if you’re walking through a vineyard in the northern hemisphere, somewhere in Germany or Washington or upstate New York for instance, the frost is probably on the vine and the dirt is crunching beneath your feet. If, however, you’re part of the 10% of the world’s population that lives below the equator, your January vineyard stroll involves warm sunshine and dry air. In fact, if you’re walking through an Australian vineyard, you won’t be wishing you had grabbed a pair of gloves on your way out the door. Your thoughts are more likely to be along the lines of “So this is what the worst drought in a hundred years looks like.”

The Mittelrhein is magical. Whether you visit the Rhine River valley by car, boat or on foot, you’ll fall in love with the steep, vine-covered hillsides peppered with castles. This wine region, which stretches from just south of Bonn to Bingen, is one of my favorites. Here I feel transported to a time of legend, and for good reason. The Mittelrhein’s crags are part of German folklore.

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The French appellation contrôllée (or appellation d’origine contrôllée, AOC) system was born in the Rhone Valley (specifically, in Chateauneuf-du-Pape) in the early 20th century. The appellation system is intended to guarantee that the wine comes from the place (appellation) that is identified. It seeks to establish an expectation of a certain quality, and in doing so it sets forth specific requirements.

So – my wife and I started a wine club in the Monterey/Carmel area. It’s called The Tannin Salon. We meet religiously (kind-of) on the third Saturday of every month – there’s about twenty of us. Every meeting we focus on a different variety or region. No matter what the theme is, each meeting is always a lot of fun. It’s an edu-taining of the senses and a great way to engage wine seriously in a relaxed atmosphere.