Terry Nozick 
As part of the Wine Media Conference 2022, held in Lake Garda, Italy, in early October, I was on a pre-conference excursion that included on-site visits with three outstanding Lugana DOC wine producers. Two of these wineries were state-of-the art, with such amenities as gravity flow production facilities, an amphora room, deep cellars full of …
“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” — Galileo Several years ago, I attended an Amarone tasting in Los Angeles, where there were just few white wines being poured. What was this grape, I asked, and was told it’s ‘Turbiana.’ I’d never heard of it. It’s not Trebbiano, the ubiquitous white wine grape of Italy, …
“The shores of this lake with its contrasts between beautiful forests and quiet waters maybe create the most beautiful landscape in the world.” — Marie-Henri Stendahl, 19th century French writer I recently returned from a three-week tour of Italy with my husband, celebrating our wedding anniversary. When the Wine Media Conference (WMC) announced in …
My friend and colleague Melanie Webber says it all in her article about the pure deliciousness of sweet wines. I agree that they are often maligned and misunderstood, and she explains it all for you here, in her article From Nun to Nirvana: Dispelling Sweet Wine Myths and Putting the Sweet Back on Your Wine List! This …
Owner Ross Halleck blends old world sensibilities into his California wines. Discovering new (to me), artisan, family-owned wineries is one of the best perks of being in the wine business. But sitting down for a beautifully paired luncheon at a top-notch restaurant with both a well-known sommelier and a winemaker … that’s just spectacular. Some …
For me, the most beautiful setting in all of Los Angeles is the Getty Villa in Malibu. It’s just about my favorite place in the world, and I was pleased to see that the Villa was selected for the 9th Summit of the Americas dinner on June 9th, where President Joe and Dr. Jill Biden …
Iris Vineyards in Oregon’s Southern Willamette Valley When Aaron Lieberman took the job as head winemaker for Iris Vineyards in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley in 2008, little did he know that in 2020 he’d be doing pre-fermentation thermovinification treatment (that’s heating the wine must till almost boiling) on his Pinot Noir bottlings to remove smoke …
Sannio is a wine-producing sub-region of Campania, an area in the west of Italy, located on the “ankle” of the boot-shaped country. Campania produces wines made from ancient grape varieties with equally ancient-sounding names like Aglianico, Falanghina, Coda di Volpe, Fiano, Greco di Tufo, and Piedrosso. These grape varieties have been making a comeback in …
“Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, blunts care and sadness, and conduces to slumber.” — Pliny the Elder I learned during my years-long study to achieve my WSET Diploma that Italy did not become a nation state, or one unified country, until 1861. This had never sunk in during my high school history classes; …
Soon after I visited Southern Oregon as part of the 2021 Wine Media Conference (WMC21) this summer, the Oregon Wine Board released the 2020 Vineyard and Winery Report, which confirmed some of the thoughts I had during my weeklong visit to this beautiful wine region. Some of my thoughts were not so good, based on the …