Fabulous evening with Bob Pepi, wine consultant and founder of the Eponymous brand of California Reds. Bob's father bought land in Napa in 1966, grew grapes, and acquired some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley. Wine Spectator called Bob's first Cabernet Sauvignon "a Cellar Selection.". with their ripe, meaty flavors.

Napa (California): 44,000 acres planted, or about three Manhattans. 1966: 305. Recently, someone asked me, “so just how big is Burgundy, say, compared to Manhattan?&# Excellent question! all sources appear after the jump.). Romanee-Conti (DRC) vineyard: 4.4 acres, about half of Bryant Park.

Premature oxidation of dry, age-worthy white wines–be they from Burgundy, Bordeaux or California–is a tremendous problem today, and at this point in time it does not look to me as if any meaningful progress has been made since the scourge first became readily apparent when the 1996 white Burgundies began to tank. think not.