Editor's note: For more on this subject, check out Rod Phillips’ new book, French Wine: A History. UC Press is graciously offering GuildSomm readers a discount. Order online using the code 16M4197 for 30% off.

France occupies a special place in the world of wine. Only one wine is a household name globally, and it’s French: Champagne. There’s still a widespread belief that the best French wines are the world…

By Tina Caputo

Thanks to DNA testing, anyone can identify a mysterious vine simply by sending a sample off to the lab. But for Virginia-based vineyard consultant Lucie Morton, a world-renowned ampelographer, it’s still crucial to know how to distinguish vines the old-fashioned way: by sight and touch.

It took Morton years to learn ampelography, a skill that few viticulturists in today’s high-tech world still work to…

My path to the Master Sommelier Diploma ran through Boston. At the time, it was a nice restaurant city but a bit of a wine wilderness. People liked what they liked, but no one was too concerned about the details. When I passed the Advanced Exam, there were two other green pins in the city, and that was about it. As I started to prepare for the MS in earnest, I considered leaving my home city behind, lining up interviews…

If there is one native Spanish grape that a typical wine drinker will know, it is Tempranillo, and for most consumers, the story ends there. In the second half of the 20th century, it was this widespread lack of recognition of Spain’s native grapes combined with the ease of growing French varieties that gave nonnative grapes inroads in Spain. Winemakers didn't want to explain Monastrell when people already knew and were…

For a long time, fine dining in Mexico City meant fancy French restaurants. Restaurateurs would import big names from Europe for bumper fees; French wines became synonymous with good (and expensive) taste. But the local dining scene is undergoing steady change. Some of Mexico City’s most exciting restaurants are its cocina de autor, eateries owned and driven by Mexican chefs who trained overseas and returned to…

The first recorded wine production in the United States took place in Virginia soon after the British established a colony there in 1607. Despite the historical achievement, however, the early years of winemaking in the region were rocky, and it wasn’t until the 1980s that Virginia’s winemakers truly caught their stride. Today, Virginia ranks fifth in the nation for wine grape production—not bad for a state…

Blind tasting is, to the perception of the masses, the most exciting magic trick sommeliers perform. How many times have friends outside the industry brought you a glass of wine and demanded that you get to grape, region, and vintage on the spot? They believe in us and are fascinated by blind tasting—but few understand what it takes to get to this level.

Whether you are studying for a Court of Master Sommeliers exam…

In recent years, Croatia has shaken its image as a war-torn country crawling out from the disastrous breakup of former Yugoslavia, thanks in part to the touristic appeal of the blue-green Adriatic Sea. Following its independence, Croatia’s wine cellars were heavily privatized and modernized, and today, wine production in this country of only 4.5 million people rivals that of Canada. Even so, its wines continue to be a…

Israel's winemaking history can be traced back thousands of years, but only recently have its wines attracted widespread attention. Still unfamiliar not only to most consumers but also to many sommeliers, Israel is becoming an important player in the wine world and deserves this newfound interest and respect.

Wine is an integral part of the Jewish religion. The Hebrew Scriptures celebrate wine…

Brad Webb with Ambassador Zellerbach (Photo courtesy of Hanzell Vineyards)

Brad Webb had landed the dream job. It was 1956, and he’d just been appointed winemaker at a new winery, Hanzell, founded by James D. Zellerbach, the wealthy US ambassador to Italy. Zellerbach had spared no expense in pursuing his dream of making classically styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to rival the wines of Burgundy. Webb had at…