Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and our San Francisco team has got you covered. They’ve picked their favorite bottles for romancing yoru sweethearts! Whether you’re hitting the town in your finery or cozying up with Netflix, there’s a beverage for you in this list!
Read MoreChampagne Buyer Gary Westby and his team have assembled a lineup of Champagnes that range from everyday values to the height of luxury. No matter the occasion, we have a Champagne to pair with it!
Read MoreMy new French phrase for my first week in Champagne is “la montre est bonne,” an expression that means “everything looks good right now” for a good vintage in 2022. After the disastrously low yields of 2021, the generous set on the vines now is a site for sore eyes. The vineyards in Champagne are far ahead of schedule, with flowering happening as I type in many places, and the flowers are already here in Sacy, where I took the picture below. A big harvest would do a lot to stabilize Champagne, because currently stocks are low due to a big increase in global demand, the horribly short 2021 harvest, and the self-inflicted wound of tight yield limits in 2020.
Read MoreTravelling to the 2021 En Primeur tastings is a study in contrasts—while the vintage we’re about to taste (2021) is largely defined by its multitude of challenges, the past half-decade is full of brilliant wines that speak to the precision and refinement of modern Bordeaux. So, before we even delve into the 2021s, it is worth looking back and putting this run in perspective.
Read MoreFor St. Patrick’s Day, I knew my friend was bringing Corned Beef (here’s the recipe she used), so my wine pairing was the 2018 Ferraton Père et Fils "La Matinière" Crozes-Hermitage. I adore Northern Rhône wines—and a Crozes-Hermitage for $19.99 was an immediate draw! Not only is the pricing off the hook, its pedigree is, too: it’s organically and biodynamically farmed thanks to major investment in this estate by Rhône giant Michel Chapoutier. Critics reap praise and scores on this estate. I had to try it.
Read MoreToday's Newsletter is a fun, fascinating, and enlightening deep dive into the many facets of Italy's wine culture that we don't often see. Our long-time Italian buyer Greg St. Clair has spent decades traversing the country in search of the very best under-the-radar finds, and he's curated a can't-miss selection of his current favorites all in one place.
Read MoreWe have been working with Vivien Lamoureux from Champagne Jean Jacques Lamoureux for seven years now, and their wines have always been not only a great representation of the terroir of their village, Les Riceys, but also a great value. Now, with the world inflating around us, and especially the prices of Champagne shooting up, these wines are a real steal… Especially Vivien’s $36.99 tête de cuvée bottling, the Jean-Jacques Lamoureux "Trilogie" Brut.
Read MoreSouth American Wine Buyer Kirk Walker has assembled a line up of wines from Chile and Argentina that will make you rethink what you know about this winegrowing region! Collectibles, cult producers, value wines—maybe even the world's best value Pinots?
Read MoreOn Monday, for Valentine’s Day, Cinnamon and I opened the best bottle of wine I have drunk in quite a while. It was the Krug Grande Cuvée 165ème edition, which had been in my cellar for just over four years. Just last week, Krug announced their ingredient of the year—rice—as part of their wonderful single-ingredient program. Each year they choose a “humble” ingredient to inspire everyone from top chefs to Krug-loving home cooks to come up with great pairings. Cinnamon and I had been talking about which rice dish to cook ever since. I settled on crab risotto, a dish we used to make every Dungeness crab season, but due to poor supply of the crustaceans over the last few years, have not made in quite a while.
Read MoreToday's Domestic Newsletter must be one of the broadest and most comprehensive editions we’ve written to date. Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse starts off with the highly anticipated 2019 vintage in the Napa Valley then moves his focus to the exceptional, world-class wines coming out of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Next, SoCal Domestic Buyer Kaj Stromer gives us a look back at some of the brightest spots to come out of 2021 by recapping the best Domestic deals. Unprecedented times produced unprecedented deals. Continuing on the theme of wines that overdeliver, Kaj highlights his favorite bottles for under $25. Finally, Kaj looks at what K&L staffers are drinking during these long winter months. Read on and enjoy!
Read MoreWe at K&L are Thanksgiving die-hards. It’s the one time of year when our collective favorite hobby is front and center: eating and drinking! In this week’s newsletter, our buyers have put together a compendium of some of their favorite turkey (or tofurkey) tipples—and there’s even a mortadella pairing if you want to veer off the beaten path.
Read MoreFrom busting myths to discovering cool new wineries, K&L’s Domestic Team has been busy finding the greatest wines from the U.S. of A. to bring to our customers. This week’s mammoth 12-page newsletter has the fruits of their labor. Whatever your fancy, allow Ryan Woodhouse and Kaj Stromer to be your guides, as they champion the depth and breadth of wines from our home turf.
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