Every wine buyer has a handful of producers that are more than just names in a portfolio. They are benchmarks, inspirations, and personal favorites. For me, one of those producers has always been Fattoria San Lorenzo. To put it simply, these are some of the most soulful and alive wines being made in Italy today, and they come from the heart and hands of a true force of nature: Natalino Crognaletti.
Read MoreHere at K&L, we are constantly searching for producers who offer a true sense of place, whose wines tell the story of a family and a specific piece of earth. Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to Giovinco—a name that embodies both a deep respect for tradition and a dynamic vision for the future of Sicilian wine. This is a story that stretches from the historic, sun-drenched vineyards of Sambuca di Sicilia to the electric, volcanic slopes of Mount Etna.
Read MoreWe see it constantly: customers interested in Burgundy but intimidated by the complexity and nuance and overall high barrier to entry. Even those comfortable discussing a few favorite bottles may struggle to navigate an unfamiliar shop or wine list. While nuanced producer knowledge represents the pinnacle of Burgundy expertise, nearly 2,000 years of terroir knowledge is why the region is both revered and yet so complicated. Soil, slope, aspect, and weather are critical for finicky Pinot Noir and ripening-sensitive Chardonnay. Luckily, understanding a few top villages can immediately bring clarity, making it possible to move from overwhelmed to confident.
Read MoreWith an impressive array of holdings strewn throughout the Côte d’Or, Louis Jadot is a producer that deserves space in your cellar. From 1er Cru to Grand Cru these wines represent both great quality as well as great values with many of the wines coming from estate-owned vineyards.
Read MoreThirty years ago when I first started out in the wine business, I honestly was not a big fan of Bourgogne Rouge. They were clipped, hard-edged, and lacking that beautiful fruit we associate with Red Burgundy. Today, however, everything has changed! The new generation of Bourgogne Rouges are flat-out delicious and often represent not only the best value to be had in Red Burgundy but also serve as a great introduction to the house style of their producers. The recent batch of landings all from either the 2022 or 2023 vintage—both of which were solar—are fresh, bright, lively, balanced, and packed with gorgeous fruit flavors.
Read MoreOur sommelier-guided events are fully customizable. Our team will work with you to craft a unique and memorable experience for your crew. And, because Burgundy offers both prestige and clarity of focus—Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes—it serves an ideal topic for a wine workshop. If you’ve always been curious about diving deeper into this distinguished region, your company holiday party is the perfect chance to do so! Guests leave not only having enjoyed an evening of world-class wines, but with practical, lasting confidence they can use at their very next client dinner. After the guided tasting the event can transition into a relaxed reception where guests can revisit wines or explore new selections while networking and engaging with our sommeliers.
Read MoreImagine strapping yourself into a Victorian diving suit, lowering into the inky Atlantic, and finding—rather than shipwrecks and squid—an old Ardbeg cask still breathing with smoke and sea. That’s the feel of Ardbeg: The Abyss, a 34-year-old Islay single malt Scotch surfacing this October at K&L’s spirits auction… with a $1 reserve. Yes, one dollar. Try not to hyperventilate through your regulator.
Read MoreOctober’s Spirits Newsletter is loaded: the long-awaited Every Drop 16-Year “Dawning Era” lands in stock, we welcome Josh Gelfand to the buying team, and we’ve lined up a showcase of exclusive barrel picks spanning bourbon and agave. Don’t miss Old Particular & Signatory standouts—from savvy daily drinkers to blue-chip rarities—and a preview of our Ardbeg Abyss auction with a $1 reserve.
Read MoreAny spirits lover can attest that our spirits selection runs as deep and as wonkish as you any out there. We’re thrilled to bring on a second Spirits Buyer, Josh Gelfand, who can help build on the wonderful work David Othenin-Girard has been doing. Josh is based in Northern California, so he’ll be a great counterpoint to David in SoCal. We’ve seen so much enthusiasm from our customers and growth in this category, and it’s extremely exciting to watch how it will continue to grow in the years to come.
Read MoreAnonymous is without doubt one of the most exciting projects we've launched in decades at K&L. The wines have been extremely well received all around and continue to fly off our shelves as folks drink them and taste for themselves what exceptional values they represent. It's a fun game to play, trying to guess whom we partnered with on each release, and many of you have emailed me some pretty good guesses. However, the most important thing that really drives this project is the quality that's in the bottle. If it doesn't taste good, intrigue and speculation can only carry the wines so far. The wines have to deliver, and I'm really proud of what we've put in bottle. I hope you feel the same way.
Read MoreThe region of Combsville in Napa Valley even describes itself on the official vintners' and growers page as a hidden gem. Despite being just three minutes from downtown Napa, the region is somehow still off the beaten path for most visitors to the valley. Coombsville is one of the more recently established sub-AVAs in Napa Valley, becoming officially recognized in 2011. There is, however, a long history of grape growing in the region going back to the 1880s. To this day the iconic R.W. Moore Vineyard, planted in 1905, is still in production. It was however in the early 1980s that the modern era of Coombsville began and no winery was more instrumental in the founding of this AVA than Farella. Firstly, second generation owner, Tom Farella, wrote and submitted the petition that led to the creation of the AVA. But Farella’s importance goes deeper than simply filing paperwork.
Read MoreOne of my absolute favorite small producers we're working with right now is MarBeso, based in the Sta. Rita Hills. I first got to know owner/winemaker Colin McNanny when he was making the wines at La Honda winery, just down the road from our Redwood City store. I admired the wines he managed to craft at La Honda, especially when you take into account that the team there produced wines from dozens of essentially “backyard vineyards” from Los Gatos to San Mateo. Colin and I became friends with a mutual enjoyment of surfing and finding great hole-in-the-wall taquerias around Redwood City.
Read More
