Wine Spectator

30, White, Still, California. Tasting note for this wine: Crunchy and bright, with a mix of lemon pith, jicama and ...See the full review, with rating and when to drink!

Jackson Family Wines (JFW) has made small-batch Oregon sparkling wines since 2014, selling them exclusively through mailing lists and tasting rooms at Gran Moraine and WillaKenzie. A new sparkling wine project, named Banke in honor of CEO Barbara Banke, is expanding that ambition. "I did not pick the name," Banke says with a laugh. "Everyone voted for it except for me.

By Alison Napjus More than 260 wines were reviewed by Wine Spectator senior editor Alison Napjus for the Champagne tasting report in the Dec. 15, 2026, issue. For a full analysis of the latest vintages, best producers and recommended wines, read "Champagne's Star Power." WineSpectator.com members can find full reviews, with tasting notes, in the Wine Ratings search.

Chef Daniel Humm-the Swiss chef and owner behind Wine Spectator Grand Award winner Eleven Madison Park -has traded elevated tasting menus for more casual fare with his latest restaurant, Humm. The new spot opened in New York City's West Village-in the former En Japanese Brasserie space-on Oct. 10. The wine program, led by wine director Michael Duffy, features more than 1,500 labels, with a focus on Champagne, Burgundy and smaller regions across France such as the Jura, Beaujolais, Alsace and Loire.

In a typical vintage, Marchesi Antinori exports 500 to 800 cases of the renowned super Tuscan wine Solaia to the United States. On the night of Oct. 3 and into Oct. 4, a group of masked individuals broke into a warehouse in Cortona, Tuscany, loaded 1,000 cases of Solaia 2023, as well as 1,000 cases of Tignanello 2023 and 500 cases of Guado al Tasso and other Antinori wines onto several trucks and drove off into the darkness. In all, they stole 2,500 cases-30,000 bottles-worth more than $5 million.

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In recent decades, grapes long associated with a particular wine region have made new homes in growing areas around the world. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the perfect example: Once identified only with the vineyards of Burgundy, both now thrive everywhere from California and Oregon to Australia and New Zealand. Think of these far-flung connections as old pals who go way back, long-standing friendships with deep roots.

More than two decades ago, the 2003 vintage in Burgundy was branded by torrid heat, taking growers by surprise. Many of them were forced to return from vacation to the earliest harvest since 1893, leading to crucial decisions about when to pick and what techniques could help manage the heat. Would they use refrigerated trucks to transport their grapes? Would they cool their grapes to preserve aromas and flavors and prevent fermentation from beginning too quickly?

When mozzarella surpassed Cheddar as the best-selling cheese in the U.S. a decade and a half ago, it was a striking measure of pizza's tremendous, enduring popularity. Americans consume literally billions of pizzas every year. As a cheese journalist for nearly 30 years, one who's spent most of his life in the pizza strongholds of New Jersey and New York, learning how to make pies at home had been on my bucket list for a long time.

One of the many gifts my career has given me is a deep appreciation for the fact that not everyone is going to agree. That may sound obvious, but I have a front-row seat to it. I review wines. Every time I publish a review, I put my opinion out into the world. Thousands of times a year. Sometimes people disagree with it. That's OK. Take Chardonnay, one of the world's most popular grapes.