What a weekend! Our annual, two-city Champagne Tent Event was another amazing success in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. The events drew sold-out crowds with a total of 300 guests attending each tasting. This year, we had approximately 20 producers pouring their wines, many of whom flew out directly from Champagne. The lineup of over 80 Champagnes was impressive, but the real draw of this event was the opportunity to meet and talk with these producers.
Read MoreLucie Pereyre de Nonancourt and Naomi Smith recently honored our Redwood City staff with a visit from the Grand Siècle division of Laurent-Perrier. Lucie is the newest member of the family to enter the business and is focusing primarily on the Grand Siècle side.
Read MorePrices have steadily climbed throughout the Burgundy regions that were once stalwarts of everyday drinking like St. Aubin, and the more high-rent areas like Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet have priced themselves out of the daily drinker market. Burgundy-lovers have been left to find new villages that could offer that tell-tale Burgundian experience without emptying their wallets. The domaine of Jean et Gilles Lafouge is making some of the best values I have tasted in Burgundy from Auxey-Duresses, Pommard, and Meursault. Both William Kelley (Wine Advocate’s Burgundy Reviewer) and John Gillman have expressed their admiration for the immense quality of these wines. John Gillman went as far as to compare the wines to the style of Roulot’s whites.
Read MoreWe at K&L are pretty jazzed about our Direct Import Champagnes, which undeniably deliver the finest bubbles-to-price ratio we’ve ever seen. In this week’s newsletter, we’re thrilled to introduce a few new producers to our shelves and to celebrate some of the tried-and-true who have offered consistent quality and value for years. They’ll get you in the mood for our annual tent event this weekend! Let the Champagne jubilee begin!
Read MoreOne of our oldest employees and Bordeaux specialists, Ralph Sands, has been here almost as long as the business itself. Over those past four decades, he’s amassed quite a few stories. Recently, he shared this one, taking us back to the beginning of K&L and the special wine that helped shape the company.
Read MoreThis past Tuesday, the K&L Champagne team, Scott Beckerley from San Francisco, Diana Turk from Hollywood, Elsa Baez from Redwood City and I sat down for a marathon Champagne tasting. We call it our staff summit, and this was the 9th year in a row that we have gotten together for it. We want to make sure that we are all well informed on the different styles of Champagne that we offer so we can make you, the Champagne lover, happy with your selection. This year we tasted 53 Champagnes from 16 different producers.
Read MoreToday, it’s widely known that some of the best Syrah and Grenache on the planet come from Rhône, but do we really understand why? This line of inquiry led us, meaning Keith and I, to create Rhône School, your biweekly-ish dive into the Rhône, region by region, rock by rock, with a blog-toothed comb. First stop: St-Joseph.
Read MoreRecently, we kicked off our annual Champagne Team Staff Summit with a wonderful sushi dinner hosted by Billecart-Salmon and Mr. Clement Calleja. It was wonderful to spend an evening learning about these fabulous Champagnes and having the opportunity to try them all with food and over time. We checked in on most of the range.
Read MoreI never imagined that we would direct import a producer whose entire production comes from one of the blessed Clos of Champagne. This past March, on my spring trip to the region, I had the chance to go to the other side of the wall of the Clos Boursault to visit Charlotte Le Gallais and her father. After months of waiting, the wines have finally arrived at K&L.
Read MoreThis week, we’re hosting Hélène Garcin-Lévêque in Hollywood for a special in-store tasting and then three-course pairing dinner at Michelin-starred Kali. But word got around! I’d planned to let readers know about the event in this post, so you could run out and buy tickets, but they’ve already sold out! So, instead, I’ll introduce you a bit to her and to her wines, and encourage you to bring home a few bottles for yourself so you can get to know her style. If you would still like the chance to meet her, you can get on the waiting list.
Read MoreIt tickles me a little to write that Damien Hugot is our new producer from the Grand Crus of the Côtes de Blancs. His family has been growing grapes in Champagne since at least 1660, and probably before that. He has an incredible collection of vineyards, almost entirely in the Grand Crus of Chouilly and Cramant, the two northernmost villages of the Côtes de Blancs.
Read MoreSancerre is the quintessential paradise of country France. It is only two and a half hours from Paris by car, but it might as well be on another planet. This is a peaceful place that runs at French small-town pace. I can’t recommend a vacation here highly enough and wanted to share some of the highlights of my ten days there.
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