about $19; find this wine ) Given that Potel is a leading negociant house in Burgundy and from several tastings of 2006 red Burgundies, I was optimistic that this wine would work out when I added it to my virtual shopping cart. Domaine Bernard Baudry , “Les Granges,&# Chinon 2007. Oh, and they’re tasty and balanced. MORE >>

okay, so maybe it's a bit unfair to compare a 2008 and 2007 Bourgogne from two different regions. Yet when a favorite wine store clerk suggested I try the Domaine Michel Gros 2007 (around $30, but splurge, it's the holidays) and 2008 Domaine Rollin (mid-twenties?)I was game. color: medium garnet, fresh/young looking. finish is med+. MORE >>

Wells Guthrie had his conversion on the road home from Burgundy. The lanky, California maker of pinot noir, chardonnay, and syrah told me at his Sonoma winery that he had his conversion in 2005, after returning from a trip to Burgundy and the Rhone. alcohol and $20 retail is that rare find of affordable and tasty pinot. MORE >>

When I asked winemaker Roli Velich of the Moric winery which grape was the most apt comparison for Blaufränkisch, he suggested no fewer than three: pinot noir from Burgundy, Syrah from the Northern Rhone and Nebbiolo from Piedmont. The 2007 Spitzerberg, with a featherweight 12.2% euro) a bottle. Things have changed. MORE >>

The Cotes du Jura en Barberon, 2007 & 2008, grown on limestone soil, had a lovely richness. These are not your father’s white Burgundies. With distinctive minerality, the 2007 was quite approachable, and the 2008 a bit more closed, not surprisingly. Stephane Tissot from the Jura outside Les Caves Augé in Paris. MORE >>