What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

 

Drink This

🪣  Bucket-list bottles from 17 top sommeliers.

🌹  Don’t overpay for your rosé.

🏆  What Michelin’s California Sommelier of the Year thinks you should order off of his wine list.

🇪🇸  7 excellent Rioja picks.

Get Out There

🏖️  Why the French are so good at vacationing.

🕶️  The most underrated spot on the French Riviera.

🇨🇦  Ontario’s wine country is a “fest for the senses.”

🍸  Asia’s 50 best bars.

🩴  How Italians know you’re a tourist before you open your mouth.

The Business

🤔  Want to buy Stitzel-Weller? (Excluding its name and stills.)

🤖  AI is getting smarter about the chemical markers that lead people to think a wine is “good.”

🍾  A new(ish) approach to building Champagne brands is emerging.

🇨🇳  Tariffs are leading Chianti producers to look to Asia for customers.

Boooo

☹️  “French wine is in a crisis that constitutes ‘one of the most serious in its history.’”

👎  The AI-generated whiskey decanter scam.

Woooo!

🍹  Not all wine cocktails are silly.

🇳🇿  A revival of Maori culture is happening in New Zealand’s wineries.

👏  Ornellaia’s founder has one last great project in him.

🍇  The rare white grapes of Lodi.

The Opinion Page

💨  You should be paying attention to what’s happening with cigar blends.

🍷  When to order wine by the glass vs. by the bottle.

📈  Is Estate Whiskey the next big thing?

Thanks for reading – see you next week!