They want to crack into the US market and they figure the best way to do so is to get a score from the Wine Advocate (even if one document from the regional organization referred to the scores as “Parker points”). Slope Cellars. But that sales strategy is sooo 1990s! In NYC: Astor Wines. Chambers Street Wines. Crush Wines. MORE >>

The second, I enjoyed with my daughter's roasted organic free range chicken and some fabulous roasted potato fingerlings. This has been one fantastic year of enlightenment for me when it comes to all things wine. Believe I may do a year end article on the subject. Dornfelder is a cross between Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe grapes. MORE >>

This explains why there is so much interest in organic and Biodynamics. If in the cellar, you don’t use heavy technology, you will have products of nature. Technology in the cellar tries to replace what was destroyed by modern farming. Some wineries today are playing music in their cellars. Unfortunately, very little. MORE >>

All the wines are from small producers with a focus on wines made with a minimal hand in the cellar. German Gilabert makes a reasonably priced, organically grown cava from 30-year-old vines. This week, our “set of titanium corkscrews” award goes to Jose Pastor. It’s also a philosophical difference over scoring. MORE >>

Organized by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto and led by Dirk van der Niepoort, the tasting offered an opportunity to track the aging arc of port, one of the most age-worthy wines. The wines only age about two or three years in barrel before bottling and spending the rest of their formidable lives in the cellars of collectors. MORE >>