Our Sommelier Services program is built around thoughtful, sommelier‑led tastings tailored to your group and your interests. As we turn our focus to Italy, we’re reminded how rewarding the country’s wines can be, especially alongside food. With hundreds of native grape varieties, Italian wine can seem daunting, but our sommeliers help guide the conversation and bring clarity to one of the world’s most expressive wine traditions.
Read MoreItalian wine has been the focus of my work for many years, and it’s still the category that excites me most. No other country offers the same range of native grapes, regional nuance, and deep historical continuity—nor the same opportunity to find wines that feel truly meaningful to drink. This email brings together a collection of Italian releases I’m especially proud of, spanning cellar‑worthy icons and bottles I reach for on a weeknight, all sourced with the same philosophy: trust the grower, honor the place, and never lose sight of value.
Read MoreFew estates in Piedmont occupy the rarefied position that Vietti holds today. Founded in the late 19th century in Castiglione Falletto, Vietti has long been both a guardian of tradition and a catalyst for progress, helping to define how the world understands Barolo and Barbaresco. Decades before single‑vineyard bottlings became the norm, Vietti was already isolating and elevating individual crus, insisting that Barolo was not a monolith but a mosaic of distinct sites. That conviction—paired with meticulous farming, sensitive winemaking, and an unerring sense of balance—has made Vietti one of the great reference-point producers of Piedmont.
Read MoreLocated east of Rome between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, Abruzzo produces some of Italy’s most food‑friendly wines—and Tenute Inverso may be its most exciting under‑the‑radar estate.
This tiny, family‑run winery focuses on Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, farmed responsibly and made with minimal intervention. No oak. No ambition to impress. Just honest wines that belong at the table.
Read MoreI’m honored to welcome the cult Brunello di Montalcino estate Cerbaiona to our Direct Import portfolio. Located on a prestigious Galestro ridge in Montalcino, Cerbaiona is world-renowned for its high-altitude elegance and uncompromising traditional winemaking. This is a massive milestone for our Direct Import program. In the world of Montalcino, Cerbaiona is one of those names that collectors and buyers discuss in hushed, reverent tones. As the national buyer for Italian wine, I have spent years tracking this estate, and bringing it into our DI portfolio is a career highlight.
Read More2021 Brunello di Montalcino is starting to hit our shelves. This is the great “vertical” vintage—defined by precision, al dente structure, and mineral-driven energy. Transparent, cellar‑worthy, and built for the long haul, 2021 captures everything that makes Montalcino the benchmark for Sangiovese collectors.
Read MoreJoin me on this journey through the Loire as we highlight some of the best bottles on our shelves and hear from team members who share this passion for one of France's most diverse and exciting wine regions.
Read MoreThe title of this article might get me into hot water with some of my colleagues—especially our Burgundy buyer, Alex—but hear me out. I subscribe to the thesis that the new wave of Muscadets entering the market can offer a similar experience to drinking lovely Chablis but at a much more competitive price. First a little backstory.
Read MoreWith its steep hillsides, clay-limestone soils, and legions of passionate devotees, Sancerre remains at the pinnacle of Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire, if not the world. This is the style of Sauvignon Blanc that has set the bar to which all other versions of that animated grape aspire. But hardly to be forgotten are the astonishing wines of its next door neighbor Pouilly-Fumé, where the silex soils lend subtle and engaging aromas of gunflint to the wines.
Read MoreBertrand's Domaine de Pallus holds prime parcels in Cravant-les-Côteaux, in the heart of what is often called the "golden slope," facing the Vienne River between Chinon and Panzoult. The estate's flagship, Les Pensées de Pallus, represents his vision of classic Chinon, while his limited single-vineyard bottlings each speak to distinct parcels and terroirs. Across the range, Bertrand favors long, gentle extractions and patient aging in neutral Burgundian barrels; it’s a quiet, unhurried approach that lets the land do the talking.
Read MoreVielle Vignes Cabernet Franc from Joël Taluau comes from a single plot planted in 1934, so when they say “old vines,” they aren't just joshing around. These are wines that are made with high tannin and high acid to lay down and age in their air-conditioned cellar for decades. These are wines that are crafted to be aged longterm, bottled and then not touched or moved until they're ready to be released. I don't know the story of how Keith found these wines, but we are so fortunate that we have these. Thanks to their singular nature, there's nothing else quite like it in our store.
Read MoreI have long been a fan of Loire wines, well before I became the buyer for the category at K&L. The crisp, mineral-driven Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé were among the first wines I drank, even before I joined the wine industry. Back then, Pouilly-Fumé was the region to watch, driven by the cult producer Didier Dagueneau and the vibrant, smoky whites produced there. Sancerre was still a few years away from becoming the ubiquitous wine you now see on restaurant menus around the world.
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