October 2006
Features

Departments
• Editor’s Note

• Fined & Filtered
Life After Restaurants Patrick J. Comiskey tracks three sommeliers from the dining room to the Napa Valley.

• American Merlot Superlist

• Happenings

• Critics' Picks: Best Buys

• Spirits: Drinks to bridge the seasons, by David Wondrich

• Joshua Greene'son Clos Ste. Hune

• The Fearless Omnivore
Bill St. John suggests an elevated approach to choosing wine when dining out.
 
Tastings
• Great Wines from the Heat of 2003
Overview by Peter Liem

• Shopper’s Guide

• Bordeaux 2003
tasted: 124 reviewed: 41

• American Merlot
tasted: 130 reviewed: 30

• Alsace
tasted: 89 reviewed: 37

• Burgundy
tasted: 102 reviewed: 41

• American New Releases
tasted: 553 reviewed: 103

• Imported New Releases
tasted: 323 reviewed: 105

• Total
tasted: 1,321 reviewed: 357

 

• The Best New Sommeliers
Beyond encyclopedic wine knowledge, what can you hope for in a sommelier? Tara Q. Thomas interviews the five young leaders chosen by their peers as America's best new restaurant talent.

• Chambolle-Musigny
It's taken 20 years for a new generation of vintners to change the hierarchy within Chambolle, the apex of pinot noir. Fiona Morrison, MW, reports, highlighting the wines you'll want in your cellar.

• Mt. Veeder
Napa's indie hilltop straddles the line between Napa and Sonoma counties, where David Darlington profiles a diverse tribe of recluses, contrarians and nonconformists, making great cabernet-and syrah.

• Northwest Passage
As new vineyard developments continue in the Pacific Northwest, growers are busy mapping out the terroir. Patrick J. Comiskey explores what's distinctive about Oregon and Washington's ten newest wine regions.