First Growths remain the gold standard: stalwarts with a proven track record and the anchor of any serious cellar. They are the foundation of the kinds of collections we are most privileged to help our private clients build.

Building a Cellar Worth Drinking: Meet the Private Client Services Team

Think of us as the advisor you've always wished you had on speed dial. Someone who knows your cellar, understands what excites you, and does the legwork: the sourcing, the vetting, the relationship-building with producers and brokers, so you don't have to. Our team brings decades of combined experience, deep buying relationships across the U.S., Europe, and beyond, and the kind of access that comes from being one of the most respected wine retailers in the country. When something rare surfaces, a private cellar acquisition, an early allocation, a parcel directly from Bordeaux or Burgundy, our Private Client advisors hear about it first.

K&L Newsletter: Top Selections From Spain & Portugal

I’ve just returned from a buying trip through Spain and Portugal, and I’m more energized than ever about what these regions are delivering. Across the board—red, white, and sparkling—the quality is high, the styles are distinctive, and the pricing still works strongly in the customer’s favor. From Spain’s broad, well‑established appellations to Portugal’s incredible diversity of native varieties, the consistency and craftsmanship I tasted were impressive. The wines highlighted here are some of the bottles and categories I’m genuinely excited to share with you.

There’s a New Sparkle to Spain’s Cava and Corpinnat

For decades, Cava was the dependable workhorse of the wine bar: reliable, ubiquitous, and, if I’m being honest, often uninspiring. Even in Spain, 90% of Cava sells for under 10 euros per bottle. The issue has always been one of geography. Unlike Champagne, which is a place, Cava is a method. You can make it in Catalonia, of course, but also in pockets of Rioja, Valencia, and even Extremadura. This multi-regional approach to an appellation has long frustrated small producers who believed that it obscured the quality and potential of small-scale sparkling winemaking in Penedès, where the style originated.

Two Generations of Patos Making Benchmark Wines in Bairrada

No individual is more closely associated with Bairrada’s modern identity than Luís Pato. Beginning in the 1980s, he championed single-vineyard Baga wines at a time when the grape was often dismissed as too rustic or difficult. Through meticulous vineyard management and lower yields, he demonstrated that Baga could produce wines of finesse, aromatic complexity, and aging potential comparable to great wines elsewhere in Europe. His work helped reposition Bairrada from a region known for tough, tannic reds to one capable of elegance and terroir transparency.

Spanish Standouts Under $20

Spain offers some of the best wine values in the world because it combines ideal growing conditions with deep-rooted tradition and relatively low production costs. Much of the country, especially regions like Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Aragón, has abundant sunshine, varied elevations, and old vines that produce wines of great concentration and complexity.

Spain’s Roots Run Deep with Garnacha

Producing everything from delicate, almost ethereal wines to intensely concentrated and juicy styles, Garnacha is a true chameleon. This, in my opinion, makes it a fascinating variety to explore. And with the world’s highest concentration of old vines, Spain is the country to turn to in order to understand this historic grape.

A Tale of Two Riojas: Modern vs. Classic

In recent years, Rioja has been experiencing a tidal wave of change, with many young and new winemakers eager to make their mark upon the classic region. And while Rioja might still be most well-known for the long-aged wines of the Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva classification system, smaller wineries are increasingly rejecting this system in favor of the flexibility to craft wines that represent a more modern, terroir-driven perspective. The resulting “modern” Rioja wines bear the generic Rioja label, but they are anything but generic!

St. Patrick’s Day Newsletter: Luck in Every Pour

At K&L, we love St. Patrick’s Day not for the kitsch, but for the craftsmanship—those meticulously made whiskeys, the world‑class stouts, the modern Irish spirits driving a new wave of cocktail culture. This guide is your passport to all of it: the bottles worth hoarding, the pours worth sharing, and the proper cocktails that prove Irish spirits can do far more than fuel a party.

A New Era for Irish Whiskey

Once the global capital of whiskey, Ireland had almost 90 licensed producers and provided 70% or more of the whiskey consumed worldwide around the end of the 18th century. This is the birthplace of uisce beatha, or water of life, after all. Due to socio-economic and political issues, however, that industry contracted to only three distilleries by the mid 1900s. Thankfully, they’re experiencing a renaissance today similar to that of American whiskey, and the quality of product keeps getting better.

An American Take on Irish Tradition: St. Patrick’s Day Beer

Ireland is famous for its rich, bone-warming stouts and easy‑drinking red ales, but you don’t need to limit yourself to imports to get into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day. Some of the best American craft breweries are turning out beers that channel the classic styles of Ireland—with creativity, precision, and plenty of character.

Cheers to a New Chapter: New York City

For a long time, I've believed that if K&L were ever to expand beyond California, New York would be the right place to do it. Not just because of the market, but because New York wine and spirits lovers are exactly the kind of customers K&L was built for: knowledgeable, passionate, and willing to reward a shop that does the work.

K&L Wine Merchants

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