If ever there was a royal family in the wine world, it would most certainly be the Pinot family. No other group of grapes is so revered and adulated, and, collectively, achieves such greatness as do the Pinots...

Vermentino, also known as Rolle, Vermentinu, and Malvasia di Corsica, is grown all around the Mediterranean Basin, from southern France’s garrigue-covered hillsides to the steep terraces of the northern Italian coast, without forgetting Corsica and Sardinia, where it unquestionably represents the white wine of these breathtaking islands...

A colleague of mine once asked Daniel Brunier of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe to compare the expressions of Grenache from his famed vineyards that stretch across different corners of the Vaucluse, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and beyond. Daniel, who is among the more self-assured vignerons you’ll meet, seemed briefly at a rare loss for words...

Day two brings us to Italy, in celebration of the sheer variety of wine grapes indigenous to its twenty unique regions. A narrow definition of terroir is typically limited to climate and soil, but a region’s native grapes, and the winegrowers who help to tell a story, are also crucial elements to this notion of place.

Today, we’re showcasing the force that is Chardonnay with a collection of wines from Burgundy, its historical birthplace, and beyond: Beaujolais, Champagne, the Loire Valley, the Jura, and northern Italy. Uniquely equipped to make a range of diverse terroirs speak loudly and clearly, Chardonnay featured in this collection will taste like anything but a single grape.

If you’d like a travel tip for France, I have a good one for you: go to Corbières! Living is good in those southern hills, with plenty of artsy villages, locavore restaurants, B&Bs with old-school charm, hikes and sites galore, and, of course—the reason we’re here—a plethora of local wines that are most often affordable and pleasantly drinkable, and, at their best, truly exceptional.

A little before 8 p.m. on a warm night last June, I sat down at a Paris wine bar across from François-Régis Gaudry, host of Radio France’s On Va Déguster. The waiter arrived and Gaudry asked for a couple glasses of whatever “vin frais” he’d recommend. It wasn’t the open-ended nature of this request that caught my attention—the order was appropriately vague, exhibiting the sort of trust you place in the staff of your favorite establishment. My curiosity snagged instead on the word “frais”...

Exactly what I had been searching for over many years was hidden in this remote corner of northern Piedmont, waiting intently, jewel-like, to be discovered.

In our July newsletter, Kermit reflects on the old days after cleaning up his home office and finding his earliest tasting notes. Particularly inspired by his first wine-buying trip to Paris, he notes that on May 3, 1974, he walked into the wine shop of Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Chaudet, who “generously opened at no charge so many great bottles for tasting and devoted such a big chunk of time to me, just me, of all people…”

Here is a collection of recent arrivals. Every week, we’ll be adding a dozen or more new arrivals, so check back often for your favorite classics or new discoveries!

An ever-changing offering of wines that are just about to sell out; one last opportunity to seize a range of selections before they disappear from our shelves forever.

When the esteemed French wine artist Michel Tolmer created beautiful artwork for our 50th anniversary, we knew right away that we had to feature it on a few select items of merch. After spending maybe a little too much time researching the options, we landed on a classy, leather-strap cap, a comfortable t-shirt made from 100% cotton, and a tote made with incredibly sturdy, fair-trade, and organic cotton by a certified B corp that invests in the livelihoods of women and farmers of India, featuring three wine sleeves and two other compartments for all of your other needs!

Our five wine clubs feature our best values from France and Italy as well as complex and cellar-worthy wines.