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. Saul had his conversion on the road to Damascus. MORE >>

Now owned by Anthony Russell (son of the founder) and producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In 1989, he competed for a prize to visit Burgundy for a week’s visit with Paul Bouchard, the Burgundian domaine/negotiant. He offers three handcrafted wines – sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and a syrah based blend called ‘Serenity.’ MORE >>

When trying to learn about terroir, Champagne presents challenges that Burgundy, for example, does not. Although the majority of Burgundy wines are of the regional or villages classification, single vineyard bottles are so widely available that your local wine shop doesn't have to be particularly creative to stock them. MORE >>

Allow me to geek out: This particular blanc de noirs comes from pinot noir in his father’s vineyard, hand-harvested at low (for Champagne) yields of three tons per acre, all from the 2008 vintage, fermented with indigenous yeasts and then rests on the lees for 16 months, and is bottled with no dosage! What can you do? MORE >>

We drank some truly interesting things - Zind Humbrecht Pinot Noir with roast chicken, 150 year old vines Hatzidakis Santorini Assyrtiko and 1988 Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner Langenloiser Berg-Vogelsang (!) sett two glasses in front of everyone, a Zalto Universal glass and a Schott Zwiesel Burgundy bowl. I love blind tasting. MORE >>