A recent K&L staff trip to Napa Valley saw the NorCal sales team explore the cooler parts of the region with a day in Carneros and Coombsville, two of the southernmost sub-AVAs of Napa, with lots of moderating influence from the nearby San Pablo Bay. We started off the day with an incredible 8:30am visit with Steve Matthiasson at his Cressida Vineyard in the upper Carneros, right at the foot of the Mayacamas range as it descends towards the bay. The weather in Carneros behaved perfectly with thick morning fog slowly receding back to the bay as our crew walked up into the vineyard with the first patches of blue sky being revealed.

The Krug Ambassade Voyage

It was a great honor to be invited by Krug this July on their Ambassade Voyage. Spending time with other Krug lovers from the industry—mostly Michelin Star chefs—and learning about Krug was a highlight of my career. It is the second time I have had the opportunity to travel with this group, but the first time that the destination was Krug’s own facilities in Champagne. My mind is still blown—it was the experience of a lifetime.

Visiting Alexandre Le Brun and Getting Excited for the 2024s from Champagne

Every time I go to the picturesque, hilltop town of Monthelon to visit Alex Le Brun, he wears his Giants gear, and it makes me feel so welcome. We looked in the vineyards, tasted his 2024 vin clair (the still wine before the second fermentation in the bottle) and also his current and a few upcoming releases. It was the best part of my day!

Italy Report: Espresso, Barolo, and Your Next Favorite Bottles

You have not really lived until you have tasted Barolo at 9 AM, had six espressos before noon, rushed through Vinitaly meetings as if speed-dating while forging new friendships at every stop. That was my last week. And yes, it was worth it.

A Cloudy Forecast in Bordeaux

We’re back on the trail, getting ready to taste the 2024s in Bordeaux, while catching up with our friends in the region. It is one of the great traditions in the world of fine wine—and quickly becoming an indispensable part of my year. The exhausting (trust me…) trek through the region will give us a wonderful perspective on the wines that will be released for sale as soon as next week—another chapter in the storied history of Bordeaux.

Touring Champagne at the Burgundy Border with Lamoureux

All my French friends always ask me if I am going to the south of France on my trip. I tell them yes—I am going to Les Riceys! It is just three miles away from the northern border with Burgundy here, and has the same soil as in Chablis, the famous Kimmeridgian clay. Not only is the soil different than the chalk of the Marne, so is the climate—here it is far more continental with colder winters and warmer summers. Luckily today was picture-perfect French spring weather, and I hope that I’ll just be carrying around my winter clothes and not wrapping up in them.

Northern Rhône Wines from the Top of the World: Guy Farge

I was fortunate enough to visit with Thomas Farge last year, and he took me through his St-Joseph holdings where we saw many of his new plantings. Since taking the winemaking mantle from his father, Guy, Thomas has grown the estate to about 20 hectares. Every vineyard has a stunning hillside view but some of the new vines overlook vistas of the valley below that any developer would be jealous of. We traipsed through some of his existing St-Joseph vines and marveled at the steep terraced slopes. Each time I got out of his truck, I had to consciously think about not stepping out over a ledge and tumbling to another terrace below.

A Wealth of Riches on Our Australian Wine Shelves

Last June, I had the extraordinary opportunity to explore the Australian wine country, searching for the next wave of exceptional wines that deserve a place on the shelves at K&L. I was not only impressed by the quality of the wines I tasted but also surprised by the sheer number of producers crafting exquisite artisanal wines that had never been imported to the United States.

Preserving California’s Old Vine Heritage One Glass at a Time

"If you want to taste California history, you want to chase down these old vines," declares community icon Chris Cottrell of Bedrock Wines. He shared his passion with the K&L NorCal team this week while seated beside some century-old, own-rooted Zinfandel vines at Stampede Vineyard in Lodi, California. Earlier that day, the K&L NorCal team dug their feet into the sandy soil of Contra Costa County's Evangelho Vineyard as well, which was largely planted in the 1890s and still on original, pre-Phylloxera rootstock.

Portugal in the Spotlight and Rioja's New Wave

Today's newsletter gives Portugal a long-overdue stint in the spotlight. With some of the greatest stylistic and varietal diversity in the world, it's a wine explorer's paradise… For all our Spanish aficionados, I'm also providing a fresh look at some of the most intriguing producers redefining the landscape of the country's most important region, Rioja.

Long-Aged Grower Champagne from Fallet-Dart in the Marne

All of the big houses say that this part of the Marne is just for Meunier and only good for the shortest-aged blends. Fallet-Dart proves them wrong. They grow great quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here as well as fantastic Meunier and offer the longest-aged current release Champagne that we stock at 19 years old. Everything that they make is grown on their own estate. I should not have been surprised by how well the wines showed given how long we have worked together, but wow, these are world class, and the value from top to bottom is simply amazing.

Bordeaux 2023 Vintage: Highs and Lows

After returning from my fifth visit to Bordeaux to taste the new vintage (where’s my 5-timer robe??), I can say with confidence there is a lot to like about the 2023 vintage. This is a vintage like no other, where the best wines are exciting, vibrant, and emotionally thrilling, capturing the best of warm-vintage depth-of-fruit and the alluring qualities of cool-vintage freshness and minerality.

K&L Wine Merchants

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