Wine

The Russian River Valley and Joe Rochioli Jr. are inseparably connected. Raised on his family’s farm on Westside Road in Healdsburg, Rochioli never left, save for college and the Army. He was the patriarch of the region, an integral citizen of the city of Healdsburg, and a proud, hardworking farmer who helped earn the Russian

André Hugel, a former leader at Famille Hugel winery in France’s Alsace region, passed away Aug. 15 from complications due to COVID. He was 92. Part of the 11th generation of the Hugel family, a name synonymous with Alsace wine, André will be remembered as a proud champion of his region’s culture and defender of

Weekend packages for Wine Spectator‘s 41st annual New York Wine Experience have sold out, but wine lovers interested in attending the three-day series of seminars and walk-around tastings can now sign up for the waiting list. Limited individual tickets for the Wine Experience’s two evening Grand Tastings, featuring more than 200 of the world’s best

In 2002, long before José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen and became one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved chefs, he opened a Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C., called Zaytinya. Now, Zaytinya has come to New York City, where it opened in July inside the new Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad—one of several recent dining

Wine Spectator is pleased to announce the promotion of Mitch Frank to senior editor. Frank joined Wine Spectator as associate editor in 2005 and in his current position as news editor he is in charge of reporting breaking news for both print and digital. In this role, Frank delivers timely news on wine as it

Festival Napa Valley’s 16th season presented an artistically diverse range of concerts and raised over $3.9 million at the Arts for All Gala. Held at the Nickel & Nickel winery in Oakville on July 17 and headlined by country music star (and wine lover) Trisha Yearwood, this year’s gala auction set a new high mark

Count Lucio Tasca d’Almerita, a leader of Sicily’s wine renaissance who helped to bring the island’s wines to the world stage at his family winery Tasca d’Almerita, died July 25. He was 82. “Lucio Tasca d’Almerita was one of the main protagonists of Sicilian and Italian viticulture,” said Antonio Rallo, CEO of his family’s Donnafugata

An ambitious new study has prompted a flurry of sensational headlines suggesting that people under 40 should avoid alcohol entirely, while people over 40 may benefit from modest alcohol consumption. But the research, which examined health data for 30 years from multiple nations, presents a complex picture: On one hand, the researchers found that people

Víctor Urrutia has been closely following the wildfires raging across different parts of Spain this summer. He has to—he’s the co-owner, with his sister María, of estates in five Spanish wine regions, including the historic CVNE (Compania Vinicola del Norte de España) winery in Rioja. As Europe has experienced one of its hottest summers on

In 2021, one of New York City’s most luxurious institutions, the NoMad hotel, shut its doors. This followed the departure of acclaimed chef and Eleven Madison Park owner Daniel Humm, who had overseen the hotel’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning NoMad restaurant before breaking in 2020 with its then-owner, Sydell Group. Earlier this summer, the NoMad’s

AXA Millésimes, the wine subsidiary of French insurance company AXA, has purchased Platt Vineyard from Russian River Partners, a vineyard investment fund managed by Eric Flanagan of Flanagan Wines in Healdsburg. The 38-acre vineyard is located in the Sonoma Coast wine region near the town of Freestone. The price was not disclosed, but permits are

The people of Japan have some of the highest life expectancies in the world, at an average of 85 years. But as they live longer, what dietary, fitness or socioeconomic factors affect health as they age? Exploring cognitive function, researchers at Osaka University and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology recently collected health and lifestyle

The announcements came from different wine regions on different continents, but the message was the same. Last week, both Favia in Napa Valley and Allegrini in Valpolicella announced that some of their wines would now be sold and distributed around the world not by local merchants but by the French négociants of La Place de

The canned wine market is being pulled in different directions. One way is chock full of affordable, mass-produced, widely available products of middling quality, often sharing shelf space with ready-to-drink cocktails and hard seltzers. The other, and perhaps more intriguing, path is in the premium sector—higher-priced wines made from quality grapes by well-known winemakers, giving

In June, celebrated New York–based chef François Payard and restaurateur Adam Lovett opened a new restaurant on Long Island’s North Fork: Southold Social. The former owner of the now-closed Payard Patisserie & Bistro restaurants, Payard built his reputation as a pastry chef at French icons La Tour d’Argent and Lucas Carton before moving to New

Star winemakers and celebrity guests came together for Wineapawlooza’s ninth-annual charity wine auction on June 25, raising more than $2.2 million for Napa’s Jameson Humane. The total is a big increase from last year’s virtual auction results of $1.4 million and a new high total for the event. The live auction, which raised $1.75 million,

Oregon Pinot Noir country has a new wine appellation. The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved the Mount Pisgah American Viticultural Area (AVA) on June 3, and the designation went into effect July 5. The approval brings the total number of appellations in the Evergreen State to 23. Mount Pisgah, Polk

New York City’s summer Restaurant Week is back for its 30th anniversary, with reservations now open for specially priced lunches and dinners from July 18 through August 21. Encompassing all five boroughs, the month-long program features more than 600 restaurants, including 60 of Wine Spectator’s 2022 Restaurant Award winners. Each year, Wine Spectator honors restaurants

A change in owners is underway at one of the top wineries in Bordeaux’s Sauternes region. Bérénice Lurton has sold a majority stake in Barsac’s Château Climens to Jean-Hubert Moitry and his family for an undisclosed amount. “Acquiring a wine estate in the Bordeaux region corresponds to a longstanding family dream with my spouse,” said

What do your heart and an open bottle of wine have in common? Oxidative stress plays a critical role in damaging both. But that open bottle of wine could actually help protect your heart. In new findings, a group of Greek researchers from Harokopio University found that coronary heart disease (CHD) patients who consumed wine