Where to Buy and Learn More
Some of the wines I wrote about aren’t that easy to find. Here are a few importers and retailers who handle a wide variety of vintages, and some knowledgeable critics with fun blogs and newsletters.
Retailers
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant
1605 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 524-1524
Lynch has been importing both classic and lesser-known French and Italian wines since the early 1970s. His online store and newsletters are a great way to learn about different grape varieties.
Astor Wines & Spirits
De Vinne Press Building
399 Lafayette St. (at East Fourth St.)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 674-7500
Astor hosts regular tastings, and you can use their website to search for wines made with hundreds of grapes, including Agiorgitko (Greece), Boğazkere (Turkey), Picpoul (France), and Zweigelt (Austria).
Chambers Street Wines
148 Chambers St.
New York, NY 10007
212-227-1434
A terrific selection of wines from small producers around the world.
Blogs, websites, and other sources of information
José Vouillamoz
@JoseGrapes on Twitter
A never-ending stream of wine grape information and science, filled with posts such as, “My first ever Morokanella, old native #wine #grape from #cyprus in #nicosia,” and retweets such as “Get your running shoes on—We’ve organized the first ever Vineyard trail run in Armenia!!!”
Biomolecular Archaeology Project
Patrick McGovern, University of Pennsylvania
www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/
Want to know more about “A biomolecular archaeological approach to ‘Nordic grog’ ”? Of course you do. That paper, and details of his teaching, research, and re-creations of ancient ales, are on this hugely fun website.
The Feiring Line
A free online blog and subscription newsletter by writer and critic Alice Feiring, full of recommendations, interviews, and insights. Feiring describes her work as “hunting the Leon Trotskys, the Philip Roths, the Chaucers and the Edith Whartons of the wine world. I want them natural and most of all, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue.” Feiring is a great source for news on Georgian wines, natural wines, and delightful vintages from all over the world.
Jancis Robinson
Many (including me) consider Robinson to be the most knowledgeable wine critic in the world. She writes beautifully, is incessantly curious, and her website has a tremendous amount of wine information, from Burgundy to China. She has a free newsletter, and reviews by subscription. A number of other talented writers also contribute to the site.
Wine Anorak
Jamie Goode has a PhD in plant biology, but he left a science job years ago to write about wine. His website has news, features, reviews, and a whole section on wine science. He says “don’t be intimidated by some of the seriously geeky bits,” and I agree. This is good stuff. (By the way, in this case “anorak” doesn’t refer to a polar exploration jacket—it’s also British slang for someone who has an obsessive interest in odd subjects.)
RAW WINE
The world’s leading celebration of natural wine, held annually in London, has expanded to cities such as New York, Berlin, and Los Angeles. Check their Facebook page for up-to-date news about events: www.facebook.com/rawwineworld.
The Academic Wino
A wonderful blog by scientist and wine enthusiast Becca Yeamans-Irwin on current enology and viticulture research.
The Wineoscope
The subtitle of this website by yeast researcher Erika Scymanski pretty much sums it up: Wine Science, Wine Rhetoric, and Other Geekery. Remember, we may work for the yeast, not the other way around . . .