News

Wittmann: The Secret of the Rheinhessen

Powerful - Staining - Mineral - Dry Riesling

"Wittmann's uncompromising pursuit of quality...make for some striking vinous characteristics. Who would believe ... his top sites have higher Riesling acidity than those of his wife Eva Clusserath on the Mosel?"

Wittmann

Philipp Wittmann took the helm of his family's estate in 1999 and it is without a doubt one of the most impressive estates in the Rheinhessen. Strangely, while Wittmann has a monster reputation in Germany, they are all

2006 Chalone Cabernet Sauvignon

The $10 Cali Cab Friday Steal!
Something about Chalone

We've written this before, but it's true: Most bottles that cost under $10, taste like bottles that cost under $5. Sure, you're not spending much, but you actually get less than what you

2007 Vatan: Concentration Meets Elegance

2007 Vatan Sancerre "Clos la Neore"
"Clos de la Neore is by any stretch of the imagination
one of the world's greatest white wines." John Gilman

With Stephen away in Germany , I'm filling in as "captain" of the Crush email program this

2006 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanee

"Vosne-Romanee is the greatest Pinot Noir village on Earth" - Clive Coates

I've written this before, but it's true: The greatest sin of 2006 Burgundy is that it came after 2005 Burgundy. (Naturally, it didn't help that prices rose due to the deadly combo of growers bumping

2007 Bedrock Wine Company: Time-Capsule Vineyards Speak (Beautifully) of California's History

One of the Most Exciting New Addresses in California

Do you have preconceptions about California winemaking?

Go ahead and forget 'em all because the Bedrock Wine Company is doing things differently. This is easily one of the most exciting new wineries we've come a

Michael Collins Irish Whiskey - The Heroic Spirit

Today is St. Patrick's Day, as any glance up shamrock-splattered Fifth Avenue will tell you and today we present a "spirited" way to observe the feast of the patron saint of Ireland.

Michael Collins Cocktails

We'll be enjoying Michael Collins tomorrow in the following three ways (choose any for yourself, or perhaps all three, depending on the time of day):

Michael Collins Single Malt, Neat
Simply pour the whiskey into an old-fashioned glass and enjoy the pleasing aroma of s

Knebel: Lower Mosel Speaks

Weingut Knebel is situated in what is considered the Lower Mosel's best village, Winningen. It is also happens to be one of the warmest areas in the Mosel and therefore the style at Knebel (especially for the dry wines) is muscular and powerful, while (almost miraculously) elegant.

Knebel

Ulli Stein: Rebel of the Mosel

The steeply terraced and visually stunning vineyards of the Lower Mosel don't offer an easy life to those who tend them. They are laborious and costly to work and their obscurity means the grapes they produce often fetch a low price.

More work, less pay. This cruel formula often results in

Far Too Beautiful: 2004 Bea Sagrantino

"At their best these are finessed expressive wines of the highest level in a style that recalls the Brunellos of Gianfranco Soldera or the Barolos of Giuseppe Rinaldi, to name just two producers with a similar aesthetic.." - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate 

Random Germans + Austrians at Seasonal

What can I say, I LOVE Austrian wine. Just such a whacky lineup of really profound, kooky wines, everything showing great. We were hosted by Wolfgang and Eddie at Seasonal, a new Austrian restaurant on 58th Street in Midtown that deserves some serious attention. Sophisticated, pure food with cont

2004 Ferrando Carema Etichetta Bianca

The Barolo-like Ballerina at Less than Half the Price!

"When I am asked which wine would I choose were I to be restricted to a single one, my answer is: Carema." - Neal Rosenthal

Strong words from legend-importer Neal Rosenthal (above), especially

Toni Bodenstein's Prager: High-Altitude Aristocrats

How many winemakers do you know would plant a high-altitude site even when everyone in the region warns against it?

How many winemakers do you know work painstakingly h

Willi Schaefer Steal - 2007 Estate Riesling

After a painful two-year drought, Schaefer's insider's secret, his QbA Estate Riesling, is back in a BIG WAY. This is probably the best Estate bottling that Willi and Christoph Schaefer have ever put together, just another golden coin from the bounty of 2007 in Germany.

Solaris 2006 Chardonnay

Let's propose a wine truism: Most bottles that cost under $10, taste like bottles that cost under $5. Sure, you're not spending much, but you actually get less than what you're paying for.

It's the rare inversion of this truism that makes our offer a "Back Up the Truck" free-for

Winter Mixed Case

Assembling a Crush mixed case is no casual affair. Trying to strike a balance between the wines, the prices and their appropriateness for the season has been the cause of many disagreements. But I think we've come up with the most balanced mixed case in terms of style and price.

Chevillon Vaucrains: Star of the Vintage and a Big, Brooding Burgundy

There's always some buzz around the Burgundy vintage prior to the "official" reports and scores. Certain themes come up again and again: Rousseau made great wines. Freddie Mugnier really hit it out of the ballpark. Aubert (de Villaine of DRC) thinks the Grands Echezeaux is phenomenal this year (a

Schafer-Frohlich: Boy Wonder in the Nahe

Tim Frohlich, the 30-something ultra-cool winemaker, may well be a genius. He has what Rudi Wiest calls "the touch." Unlike most winemakers in Germany, he did not study at Geisenheim; instead, at the tender age of 21, after only an an internship, he simply told his parents (his mother was making the wines at the time) that he was ready to take over the estate. And so he did.

2002 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose

The 2002 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose presents what I believe is the greatest vintage rose Champagne deal that I've seen in my 20+ years of collecting. This wine is packed with incredibly rich and mineral-nuanced Pinot Noir fruit while exuding an energy that makes it feel almost

2004 Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir - Robert Schagrin's Wine of the Year

If the past couple of years have been all about the great vintage releases of Burgundy, Champagne and the Piedmont, 2008 has been different (that's probably an understatement). There have been few "golden vintages," aside from 2007 in Germany, and so I've been spending a lot of time going

2006 Bize Savigny-les-Beaune Aux Vergelesses - Ian's Wines of the Year

I'm biased. What can I say, for me red Burgundy represents the holy grail.

I believe it's the most ethereal, most elegant, most beguiling wine out there. There's a twisted part of my soul (or is it the good part of my soul?) that only, only wants to drink red Burgundy and s