Back in March, we spent some time tasting great Chilean wines with Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer during our Wines of Chile Virtual Tasting. We left the event more curious and interested in the country's myriad wine-producing regions and thought this would be a good time to get ourselves up to speed on Chile's current position in the wine world.  Chile is a significant player in the U.S. as its fourth-largest importer of bottled table wines. And Chile continues to grow, going into 2011...

Wine and chocolate is a mysterious pairing that seems to have starkly different results for different palates. Which, of course, is fine since the only match that is good is the one that works for you. But it does make offering pairing recommendations a bit more difficult than it ought to be! There is one standby that works wonders with most chocolate: the sweet red wine Banyuls from Southern France. Based on the Grenache grape, Banyuls seems to have the elusive balance of fruit, sugar, acidity...

California Cabernet Sauvignon is America's most beloved red wine. In 2009, California crushed almost 450,000 tons of Cabernet grapes, an amount roughly equal to one bottle per person for the entire US population. And of those millions of bottles of 2009 Cabernet, most will be very affordable; Cabernet is the leading red variety in the under-$7-a-bottle category. But the rarest, most prestigious and priciest wines made in the US—and many would say the greatest—are also California Cabernets....

But Tarlov's winery, Evening Land, isn't a movie-mogul vanity project. For one thing, the company doesn't make cult Cabernet, the wine that ex–movie moguls tend to fetishize. Instead, Tarlov's boutique winery is a trans-Atlantic operation with a hyper-specific mission: to showcase Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, Oregon and coastal California. Under the guidance of legendary Burgundy winemaker Dominique Lafon and a team of rising-star vintners, Evening Land wines are helping redefine the...

The wines of the Rias Baixas in Galicia are steeped in ancient tradition. Nestled between the Atlantic Ocean on one side and lush green landscapes on the other, Spain’s demure white wine region rocks. But unlike the Rioja, its famous neighbor to the west, the Rias Baixas is not as high profile. Yet a journey through this region’s wineries, some anchored by elegant manor houses, inspires the promise of a return visit. Val do Salnes, north of Pontevedra, is just one of three wine...

Whether purchasing a collector’s vintage bottle, appreciating a wine’s sweet aroma and savory taste or simply storing it for a special occasion, most wine connoisseurs agree that appropriate storage is the key component to collecting wines. Storage Options Storage options range from an in-home wine cellar, wine vaults or cabinets, off-site private storage areas, to a rack placed in the corner of the basement. In-home wine cellars or boxes may be purchased to install from price ranges anywhere...