When COVID-19 shut the world down 12 months ago, just about everything changed. Though it will never replace walking the vineyards or tasting barrels in the cellar with an amped-up winemaker excited to share their creations, I'm hugely grateful to the folks who have sent their wines during this time, and I have had more than a few "discoveries" that have left me stunned.
Read MoreIn the thousands of wines we taste at K&L each year, it is often the most strange, wildly different wines that are the most talked about... Regardless of whether you think the wine tastes good or not, they are so radically different that they always tend to inspire heated discussions and end up stealing the spotlight. So I reached out to our buying staff to compile a list of wines that will shake up your palate. If you find yourself in need of a bottle to change up your wine routine, argue over, or just explore somewhere new, check out this list.
Read MoreAs we look to the state of Domestic wines for today’s newsletter, grace is the word on the tips of our tongues. From the vibrant, focused Cabernets coming out of Napa’s excellent 2018 vintage to the seductively aromatic Pinots from Oregon’s Arterberry Maresh, these pages showcase wines that achieve a seamless blend of elegance and self-possession that can only be encapsulated by the word grace. Take a stroll through the wine country of our own backyard and see what these amazing folks have been up to!
Read MoreGreg Brewer has been making gorgeous wines in the Sta. Rita Hills since 1996, first with his eponymous winery Brewer-Clifton, opened with Steve Clifton, then at Melville and Diatom wineries. Though the style is different at each winery, the message is the same: Sta. Rita Hills is world-class terroir, and it’s here to stay. If you want to understand Pinot and Chardonnay from the Sta. Rita Hills, Brewer’s wines should be where you start.
Read MoreWhether you’ll be spinning a dreidel, rockin’ around the Christmas tree, lighting the Kwanzaa candles, or simply enjoying Winter Solstice, we have something that can make your celebration special, and, though the times were strange in 2020, the wines were superb.
Read MoreJoin Buyer Keith Mabry and Importer Tom Bracamontes for a chat about where Baja wine has been and where it’s going, plus profiles on a few of their favorite producers.
Read MoreThere’s no doubt that the wines coming out of California, Oregon, and Washington State these days are better than ever. With an influx of new talent and well-honed skills from the veterans, the wines are not just a departure from the “go big or go home” model, they are in fact some of the most pure expressions of the specific and varied terroir that the West Coast has to offer.
Read MoreThe wines of Silver Oak are nothing short of iconic, Third-generation vintner Matt Duncan gives us a peak into one of the reasons why: their American oak barrels, painstakingly prepared to create the perfect symbiosis with their favorite grape: Cabernet!
Read MoreThis year marks Nicolas-Jay’s seventh vintage of making beautiful Pinots and Chardonnay in Willamette Valley. Despite fires and pandemics, these two longtime friends—Jay Boberg and Jean-Nicolas Meo—have managed to open a brand-spanking new winery this year, just in time for harvest. It may be weird times all around, but the future is looking bright for this winery, and for Oregon wine as a whole.
Read MoreAs California finds itself in the midst of another brutal fire season, we release our newsletter devoted to its wines. The timing is coincidence, but the sentiment is sincere: we are passionate about our state and want to support our fellow Californians in this difficult time in any way we know how. The way we know is wine. We’ve enclosed in this newsletter some of our Buyers’ current favorites. And we are publishing it with the hopes that our beloved places and people under siege by fire will soon get the reprieve they so desperately need.
Read MoreWe are so lucky in California to be a stone’s throw from great wine regions, no matter which part of the state we live in—and it seems a particularly good moment to celebrate this unique part of the world while it suffers under smoke and fire right now. Hollywood staffer Illya Haase recently took his family on a short jaunt from LA to Ballard Canyon, home to Stolpman Vineyards and their great lineup of wines. He was impressed by their thoughtful winemaking and farming, but mostly by the deep connection to their people and their land.
Read MoreBehind every great wine is a great story. Napa’s Accendo Cellars indeed makes great wine, and the story behind it is particularly special to us at K&L. Bart Araujo, former owner of Eisele Vineyards and Araujo Estate Winery, is the man behind the magic at Accendo Cellars. He also happens to be good friends with K&L’s Clyde Beffa, and their story stretches back to the baseball diamond at Serra High. Luckily they both held their own on the ol’ sand lot, though you might hear a bit of friendly rivalry now and again! Since those years, they’ve built some amazing businesses, and a remarkable multi-generational friendship.
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