Wine Recommendations

In a recent article, I discussed some of the best-known Super Tuscan wines . Tuscany is just one of Italy's world-renowned wine regions; in fact, every region of Italy is capable of producing world-class wines. The passion winemakers bring to the art and science of creating a top-quality wine of distinction is alive and well throughout Italy.

Bordeaux, the world's most famous wine region and France's largest by AOC volume sold [i] , produces many of the best-known wines on Earth. With 60 appellations and over 8,600 growers, Bordeaux exports wines to over 150 countries [ii] . Winemakers around the world strive to emulate the Bordeaux style, carefully blending red wine grapes to produce a wine that reflects the best influences of its terroir.

Super Tuscans are the stuff of legend. Rogue winemaker bucks tradition, breaks rules, creates something new and wonderful and vaults his wine region back onto the world wine stage – it's a fantastic tale. And that's pretty much how things happened.

California's Sonoma County has a near-perfect climate for growing cool-weather grapes. Fog banks that creep over the hillsides from the Pacific Ocean and relatively cloudy weather during key months (Californians call it "June Gloom") make many parts of Sonoma an ideal place to plant pinot noir and chardonnay.

California's Napa Valley is undoubtedly the most famous wine region in the United States. As you might expect from a California wine region, Napa exudes star quality. Even 25 years ago, the valley bustled with activity and attracted tourists from all over the country. Today Napa Valley is one of the world's flagship wine regions, with approximately 400 wineries and a reputation for top-quality wines. For many wine lovers, Napa Valley is synonymous with cabernet sauvignon. This late-ripening grape flourishes in Napa Valley's warm days and cool nights. While cabernet sauvignon grapes thrive all over the Napa Valley AVA, they do particularly well in the Rutherford and Oakville sub-regions, which are AVAs in themselves. (Napa Valley has 15 subregions, all of which are also AVAs.)