Regional wine guides.
Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Piedmont, Tuscany, Spain, Loire, Mosel, Napa, Oregon, Douro — written by people who taste these places professionally.
Burgundy — the region most worth understanding, from someone who has spent thirty years trying.
Burgundy is small. Around 30,000 hectares of vineyard, divided into thousands of named parcels, run by hundreds of producers, classified into a four-tier hierarchy that took eight centuries to settle. The good news is that the work is already done. Once you understand the structure, the labels stop being intimidating and start being useful.
The hierarchy, simplified. Bourgogne (regional) is the foundation — honest, fruit-forward Pinot or Chardonnay from anywhere in the region. Village wines come from a specific commune (Pommard, Meursault, Vosne-Romanée). Premier Cru wines come from named single vineyards within those communes. Grand Cru wines come from the most pedigreed vineyards of all — thirty-three of them in red Burgundy, only seven in the Chablis, and a handful in white Burgundy. Each step up the hierarchy delivers more concentration, more longevity, and more cost.
Where to start. Forget Grand Cru. Start at village level with a thoughtful producer. Ask for Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Bourgogne Blanc, Sylvain Pataille Marsannay, or Domaine Faiveley Mercurey. These are wines that show what Burgundy actually does — minerality, freshness, low alcohol, real food character — without the prestige tax.
Where to go next. A village wine you love will tell you which 1er Cru to chase. If Mercurey moves you, look at Mercurey 1er Cru Clémafer or Clôs du Roy. If Saint-Aubin moves you, look at En Remilly or La Chatière. The pattern repeats up the Côte d’Or.
What to age. White Burgundy from a great producer in a structured vintage (2014, 2017, 2022) rewards eight to fifteen years. Red Burgundy from 1er Cru sites rewards ten to twenty. The Grand Crus reward longer than most people are willing to wait. Plan accordingly.
Bordeaux — the most studied wine region in the world, and the most misunderstood at the retail level.
Bordeaux is divided into Left Bank (Cabernet Sauvignon-led blends) and Right Bank (Merlot and Cabernet Franc-led blends), separated by the Gironde estuary. Within each bank, sub-regions and their classifications matter: Médoc, Pessac-Léognan, Saint-Émilion, Pomerol. The 1855 classification of the Left Bank still applies (more or less), but the most interesting drinking now happens outside the famous classified estates.
What to drink under $50. Cru Bourgeois Médoc has quietly become one of the best values in serious red wine. Château Sociando-Mallet, Château La Lagune, Château Beychevelle in lesser vintages, Château Cantemerle — all of these are food-friendly, age-worthy wines from specific terroirs at fair prices.
What to age. Classed-growth Bordeaux from a top vintage rewards twenty to thirty years. Most people drink them too young. Wait. The wines transform between year ten and year twenty in ways that no other region can match.
Right Bank as the practical entry point. Saint-Émilion and Pomerol Merlot blends are accessible earlier than Left Bank Cabernet blends. Château Figeac, Château Cheval Blanc, Château Le Bon Pasteur, Château Beauregard — all good places to start.
Champagne — grower-producer is the rule, not the exception, once you know the names.
The big Champagne houses (Moët, Veuve, Bollinger, Krug) make competent wine. Grower Champagne — producers who farm their own grapes and bottle under their own label — makes more interesting wine, often at lower prices. The shift in the last twenty years toward grower-producers is the single most important development in Champagne since malolactic fermentation became standard.
Where to start. Egly-Ouriet, Pierre Péters, Vilmart et Cie, Pierre Pais, Suenen, Larmandier-Bernier. None of these names will be on every wine list. All of them are worth tasting. We have most of them on the floor at any given time.
Vintage versus non-vintage. A great non-vintage from a great grower will outperform a mediocre vintage Champagne every day of the week. Save vintage Champagne for occasions where the vintage actually means something to you.
Piedmont — Barolo and Barbaresco are the headlines. The undercard is just as interesting.
Piedmont is the most intellectual wine region in Italy. Nebbiolo, the dominant red grape, makes wines of perfume, structure, and longevity comparable to anything in Burgundy or Bordeaux. The classified zones — Barolo and Barbaresco — produce the most age-worthy reds in the country. But the area also produces remarkable Barbera, the under-rated cousin Dolcetto, and a handful of indigenous whites worth knowing.
Producer-first thinking. Barolo MGAs (single-vineyard sites) matter, but the producer matters more. Giuseppe Rinaldi, Bartolo Mascarello, Vajra, Cavallotto, and Brovia are operating at the highest level. Newer producers like Trediberri, Burlotto, and Roagna are doing serious work in different stylistic camps.
What to age. Traditional Barolo (long maceration, large neutral oak, no early charm) needs fifteen to twenty-five years to become itself. Modern Barolo (shorter maceration, French oak) drinks earlier but does not necessarily age better.
Tuscany, Spain, Loire, Mosel, Napa, Oregon, Douro — written as we taste through them.
Each regional guide grows over time. We add producers and bottles as the floor changes. Subscribe at the shop or on the homepage to be notified.
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