Sonoma County has a plethora of fantastic dining options, and during my recent exploration of Russian River Valley, I popped into a couple of great restaurants....

Making a great Bordeaux blend in cool climate New Zealand is no easy task, but somehow Stonyridge on Waiheke Island manages to do just that. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW interviews this iconic winery's founder, Steve White, to discover more about this Kiwi anomaly....

In Part 2 of Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW's interview with Stonyridge's founder Steve White, she discusses the acclaimed Larose label and asks if Stonyridge is now producing its best vintages ever....

One of my favorite things about life in California wine country is the high level of cuisine to which our local chefs adhere. When a new restaurant opens up, it's often a riveting experience for the palate....

Among Margaret River's oldest properties, established by Tom Cullity in 1967, Vasse Felix makes outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon based reds and has emerged in recent years as one of Australia's finest Chardonnay producers. Gregarious, outspoken and incredibly talented, winemaker Virginia Willcock has been instrumental in taking this great winery to the next level. In this video, Lisa Perrotti-Brown speaks with Virginia about the history of Margaret River, Vasse Felix and why this region has the ability to produce both great Cabernet...

One of the reference point estates for top quality wines in the world today, the family-run Guigal operation was created in 1946 by Etienne Guigal. Today, Etienne's son, Marcel, and his son, Philippe, are firmly in control here, and are without a doubt producing some of the most singular, sought-after wines in the world. Due to the size of this tasting, I'll keep my comments short, but the incredible quality coming from this operation is astounding, and a tasting here...

    Best of 2013: Current Release Wines Rafael Palacios 2011 Sorte O Soro Valdeorras ($131) (White) Rating: 95 A pure Godello white from Valdeorras sourced from a single vineyard that is a breakthrough wine for Spain’s table whites. Casa Castillo 2006 Pie Franco Jumilla ($50) (Red) Rating: 97 Pure Monastrell from Jumilla, from ungrafted vines planted in 1942, that combines power and elegance but at the same time remains truly Mediterranean-style. González-Byass NV Fino Cuatro Palmas Jerez ($137) (Fortified) Rating: 97...

With a rise in demand and premiums paid nowadays for ‘terroir’ wines – hallowed drops that can be traced back to their place merely by the character they exude - liberties were almost bound to be taken with the ‘single vineyard’ term. I’m certainly finding it used more and more in marketing paraphernalia. I’ve even seen ‘single vineyard’ mentioned on the front labels of large production Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs coming from vast, alarmingly young vineyards with no track record to...

As the Northeast USA sunk beneath the worst blizzard in memory (beating in Philadelphia, the old record snowfall by over nine inches), I remembered how much more fun the last major storm we had was. Fate works in strange ways....