June 2002

June Tastings • June Tasting Stats • Top Ten Merlot • Value Varietals • Merlot • American New Releases • Imported New Releases

In This Issue:   • Barcelona: Where Cava Meets Catalan Cuisine Ray Isle takes a night-time tour through the best wine & tapas bars of Spain's most international city.   • Highway 29 Revisited W&S heads underneath the glitz of California's premier wine region with Jordan Mackay, as he checks out the hidden spots where Napa Valley's insiders spend their time.   • In Favor of Restraint: Picking the Right Merlot for Dinner Taylor Antrim talks to restaurants around the country, with an eye to pinning down the ever-shifting personality of merlot.   • Value Brands Looking for the best buys under $15? Patrick Comiskey and Tara Q. Thomas take a look at W&S's top-performing value brands, both American and imported.   • The Specialists The best, most affordable Aussie shirraz? Burgundy that won't break the bank? Patrick Comiskey gets recommendations from retailers who make the intricacies of individual wine regions their business.   • Good and Plenty Once home to an ocean of unexciting red wine, Italy's Abruzzo is undergoing a quality renaissance. Tom Maresca investigates.   • Napa Valley's Right Bank Rod Smith heads for windy, coastal Carneros, where the region's cool soils are producing some of California's best merlot.   • A Vintage Comparison: Bordeaux 1998/1999 In our most comprehensive Bordeaux review ever, W&S takes a look at over 175 wines you'll find on wineshop shelves right now. Plus a special profile by Fiona Morrison, MW, of our two top-rated wines: Château Pétrus and Vieux Château Certan.