December 2016 - Wine & Spirits Magazine

December 2016

INSIDE THE ISSUE

December 2016

90 Exceptional Champagnes for the Holidays

Editor’s Note
Looking Forward

Editor’s Note

Contributors

Fined & Filtered
Alsace’s Premier Cru Move, by Jamie Goode

Happenings

Spirits: A New Sort of Japanese Whiskey by Jordan Mackay

Wine by the Bay: Outtakes from the W&S Top 100

Tastings


Year’s Best

Champagne
Alsace
Mosel Riesling
US Cabernet Sauvignon
Barolo & Barbaresco
Rioja
Port
Best for $12 or Less

Focus On

New Releases

US New Releases
Imported New Releases

Editorial Features


Eat | Drink: Philadelphia

Eat | Drink: Philadelphia

Sure, the state controls liquor sales in Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t stop Philly’s best restaurateurs from assembling destination-worthy wine and cocktail lists: Husband-and-wife team Emily Teel and Ben Lemoine give the lowdown on where to eat and drink now.

Barolo’s Forgotten Village

Barolo’s Forgotten Village

Stephanie Johnson heads to Verduno, Barolo’s smallest commune, a historic bastion of refined and fragrant nebbiolo that’s coming back into fashion.

Klassical Revival

Klassical Revival

Kabinett, defined by 19th-century growers as their most ageworthy selections, has become the lost category of contemporary Prädikat wine. Until recently, David Schildknecht explains, as renegade vintners break with current Kabinett norms to produce light, transparent expressions of their vineyards.

Sustainable Champagne

Sustainable Champagne

After the most difficult vintage in recent memory, Champagne’s vinegrowers are asking what “organic” farming should look like in their damp, cool climate. Are some of the methods allowed under certification more detrimental to the environment than conventional approaches? Peter Liem reports.