• Homage to 'one of the world's greatest Merlot wines'
  'I had never encountered an Italian wine that was so plump and so dense with fruit character. As a Merlot, it was also vastly different from the fairly austere and simple Merlots from Italy’s northeastern regions — a revelation.'
• Picks from 2008 'rich, bold' German and Austrian vintage
  'As usual with these wines, some of my favorites are really smashing deals, and if I didn't have to buy new brakes for my car, I'd be plunking down for a couple of cases of this stuff. Yummy!'

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Whiskeyphiles are accustomed to hunting for rare bottles—the tiny production of the 18-year-old Sazerac rye, for instance, seems to sell out almost instantly upon release. Big brands, however, like Maker's Mark, are always reliably present ...

Denis Durantou is one of my favorite winemakers in Bordeaux. He is eccentric and passionate, and his Pomerol estate, 1, makes wonderfully fragrant and beautifully proportioned reds from about 85 percent Merlot and the remainder in Cabernet Franc. The property has been in his family since 1882.

• Summer wines for $20 or less: Pacific Coast whites
  'I'm not much of a fan of heavy, high-alcohol white wines at any time of year, but I really avoid them when the weather gets hot. In summer, I look for crisp, flavorful whites that are refreshing, not exhausting. I tend to eat lighter foods, too, and these summertime whites pair well with meals that focus on salads and fresh vegetables.'
• Holiday tip: 'Wines go with grilling on July 4th'
  'You have to be versatile with your selections, and although you could pair either a white or a red to accompany the meal, I choose all whites in order to help cool things off on a hot day.'

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Or check out breaking news reports of red and white wine bargains. Scope out the current online wine buzz and Twitters. And find a local wine bar/restaurant with this custom Google-powered map.

Plus, UK thieves rob a Champagne truck, "ladybug taint" solution revealed, and dogs invade restaurants for charity

Appellate decision affirms state's right to ban shipments from stores in other states

This red has thick, full-bodied tannins and a smoky espresso note to the ripe black fruit flavors with fragrant violet, mineral and licorice notes. Rich and dark, with flavors that persist on the finish.

I'm Freedom-bound for the Fourth of July weekend, as in Freedom, Calif. I'm not sure Freedom is even a town (it's in Amador County, in the Sierra foothills), but it has a post office (and boxes) and my friends have a home there where we're spending the holiday.

At the recent F&W Classic in Aspen I had a chance to sit in on a seminar with bacon-obsessed Australian wine fanatic Dan Philips, an F&W contributing editor and the owner of the Grateful Palate. While telling the crowd about what’s new ...

When you mention New Zealand in a wine conversation, no doubt the first thing that comes to mind is Sauvignon Blanc. Indeed, the country has hung its hat on the tangy, bright, zingy wines that come out of the Marlborough region. Those Sauvignons are good and there are plenty of them.

• Jancis Robinson touts two great Chilean Sauvignons
  'In hot, humid weather, what could be more agreeable than a really sleek, racy, cool, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc with lots of zesty acidity counterbalanced by really interesting, thought-provoking fruit? New Zealand, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé had a stranglehold on this style for many years but Chile is catching up fast.'
• Vinography: 'The Best Pinot Noir in California?'
  'The Pinot Days grand tasting event, which took place yesterday at Fort Mason in San Francisco, brings together one of the largest collections of Pinot Noir producers in North America for the tasting pleasure of the public.'

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Want to find a perfectly priced bottle of wine? Drop by Wine News Review and give the exclusive Smarter Wine Search a try. You'll be able to instantly pick out a specific variety of wine at a specific price, based on the latest reviews from the Web’s top wine columnists and experts.

Or check out breaking news reports of red and white wine bargains. Scope out the current online wine buzz and Twitters. And find a local wine bar/restaurant with this custom Google-powered map.

Vinexpo draws wine producers and buyers from 48 countries, but attendance is down and business is slow

Director of professional cycling's Garmin-Slipstream team talks about riding through some of the world's great wine regions, then heading back to enjoy the local bottles

If you gave five different winemakers the same grapes from the same vineyard, you'd end up with five different wines (or in this case six, since one winemaker made two bottlings). And you would expect that all of the wines would achieve a consistent level of quality and offer a thread of continuity, or expression of the site, in keeping with the theory of terroir .

This is the second installment of two German tastings I attended recently in New York. Two major importers were previewing the 2008 vintage, among other years. I arrived late to the Terry Theise tasting at Tribeca Grill, so was unable to taste through everything I wanted, but did get a good impression of several growers.