Constellation Brands—the drinks giant whose portfolio includes Corona and Modelo beers as well as Meiomi, Kim Crawford and Robert Mondavi wineries—has signed a deal to purchase Sea Smoke, an iconic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay estate vineyard in Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills, from founder Bob Davids. The sale includes 1,100 acres of land, 256 of them planted with vines, plus a winery in nearby Lompoc, the inventory and brand. The purchase price was not disclosed. Despite a slowing U.S. wine market, Constellation has continued to acquire wineries as it shifts from value-priced to premium ..read more

Some of Italy’s most amazing wines flowed freely in Verona on April 13 at the 13th edition of OperaWine. The gala tasting spotlighted 131 of Italy’s top names in wine. Created by Wine Spectator in partnership with Vinitaly and Veronafiere, OperaWine has become the unofficial kickoff to Vinitaly, Italy’s largest wine trade fair. “OperaWine—it’s an institution now. It’s how we start Vinitaly,” said Filippo Mazzei, managing director and co-owner of Mazzei wines, which includes Castello di Fonterutoli and Belguardo estates in Tuscany and Zisola in Sicily. “And of course, for each of us, it’s a sho ..read more

In a matter of minutes on the evening of May 1, the 2024 vintage for Chablis was rewritten. A violent storm unleashed pelting hail on vineyards across the northern Burgundy appellation, known for its distinctive white wines made from Chardonnay. Vintners will not know how the vines will recover for several weeks, but the early damage reports are worrying. Described as a supercell, the storm centered on the villages of Chablis, La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne, Fontenay-près-Chablis, Villy and Maligny. Though it is still early and each parcel will have to be assessed fully by vintners, the impacted vin ..read more

Who’s behind it: After closing Charlie Palmer Steak NYC in February, chef Charlie Palmer has re-envisioned the steak house as Charlie Palmer Steak IV in a new location in New York City. This is the latest steak house in Palmer’s restaurant collective, which includes Restaurant Award–winning Charlie Palmer Steak locations in Washington, D.C., and Reno, Nev., as well as Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, Calif. Palmer made his name in 1988 with his original Aureole restaurant, which was located in an Upper East Side townhouse before moving downtown, just off Bryant Park, in 2009. Aureole pivoted t ..read more

The premise of Bordeaux en primeurs is fairly simple: The top wineries of the region sell futures the spring after harvest, while the wines are still aging in barrels. They get cash up front to help them cover production costs. The négociants—as well as the retailers, restaurants and consumers they sell the futures to—get first dibs on the wine, theoretically at a lower price than when it’s bottled and released two years later. There’s five numbers that shatter this concept however—2022, 2021, 2020, 2018 and 2017. According to Liv-Ex, a London-based marketplace that tracks collectible wines, t ..read more

The young couple in the shorts and festival shirts sped into the ballroom of the New Orleans Marriott on a mission. It was the opening night of Wine Spectator’s 2024 Grand Tour, and 235 of the world’s greatest wineries were pouring wines, all rated 90 points or higher. The pair had come straight from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, having watched Jon Batiste play an amazing set, and now they were eager to cap off a perfect day with an evening of outstanding wines. After eight hours of sun and music, what would motivate them? “The love of fine wine,” said T. Lopez of New Orleans w ..read more

Salvestrin Family winemaker Natalie Winkler struck a chord when the 2018 Salvestrin Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon earned a spot among Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2021. But it all started with a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, she tells host James Molesworth in the newest episode of Wine Spectator's Straight Talk podcast. Winkler represents a new breed of California wine pros specializing not just in winemaking or vineyard management, but in both, and she tells us why winemakers should be in the vineyard, and much more.  Wine Spectator senior editor for news Mitch Frank join ..read more

Who’s behind it: Tre Dita and the adjoining Bar Tre Dita are new endeavors from Evan Funke, the chef behind Los Angeles restaurants Felix Trattoria, Funke and Mother Wolf. Funke focuses primarily on Italian culinary traditions, particularly handmade pastas, and is the author of 2019 cookbook American Sfoglino. For the Tuscany-focused Tre Dita, he is collaborating for the first time with leading hospitality group Lettuce Entertain You, which oversees a portfolio that includes Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning RPM Steak, RPM Italian and RPM Seafood restaurants. When it opened: Tre Dita and ..read more

Marco Felluga, who made exquisite white wines that helped put the Collio area of Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region on the global wine map, died April 3. He was 96. “Friuli and the Collio region have suffered a great loss,” said fellow winemaker Silvio Jermann of Jermann winery. Jermann says that Felluga, along with fellow vintners Count Douglas Attems and Mario Schiopetto, led the drive to elevate wine quality in the Collio region, to advocate for the appellation’s promotion to DOC status and to create a regional consortium of wine producers. “Together they created the modern Collio, [and ..read more

It may be hard to imagine, considering Napa's moniker as the preeminent luxury wine region in the United States, but it wasn't that long ago that the valley was a small agricultural area populated with bootstrapping farmers. Today, the valley is renowned for its premium wines and grand estates. Four million tourists visit annually. While many visit the gleaming tasting rooms and cellars of corporate-owned wine brands, plenty of small family wineries still make up the fabric of the valley. In 2015, 68 percent of Napa wineries produced fewer than 20,000 cases per year. But there is a growing con ..read more