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Cellar Favorite: Castello dei Rampolla: Library Releases
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Oct 2024
These library releases from Castello dei Rampolla offer fascinating insights into one of Italy’s most innovative estates and wines.
2020 Barolo: Part Two
featured, Italy: Piedmont
, Sep 2024
This update rounds up our Barolo coverage for 2024, the majority of which was published earlier in the year. As usual, my early fall report focuses on wines that were bottled this past summer, along with several emerging estates that are new to our pages.
Vinous Table: Ristorante Langotto, Novello, Italy
Vinous Table, Italy
, Sep 2024
Readers traveling to Piedmont will find a dining scene replete with everything from informal wine bars to starred fine-dining establishments and everything in between. I lean towards the classics, but Langotto has become a favorite on those nights when I want to branch out.
Vinous Table: The Crow's Nest, Montauk, NY
United States: New York, Vinous Table
, Sep 2024
With its gorgeous setting, relaxed outdoor dining and fabulous menu, the Crow's Nest is one of the best places to eat in the Hamptons. The restaurant is located on a sprawling property on the tranquil shores of Lake Montauk.
Vinous Table: Mavericks, Montauk, NY
United States: New York, Vinous Table
, Aug 2024
After this very rich meal, we skipped dessert. I look forward to exploring that part of the menu on a future visit. Readers spending time in the Hamptons will want to check out Mavericks. The ambiance, food and service overall experience are all top-notch.
Vinous Table: Hitching Post II, Buellton, CA
United States: California, Vinous Table
, Aug 2024
Frank and Natalie Ostini bought the Casmalia Hitching Post in 1952 near what today is Vandenberg Air Force Base (then Camp Cooke). Frank Ostini was a carpenter by trade looking for a new career. He spent three months with the former owner learning how to cook over an open flame, and that was that. The Ostini family ran the original Hitching Post with their children for several decades before opening Hitching Post II in Buellton in 1986. A few years later, in 1993, the brothers dissolved their partnership. Son Frank Ostini kept the Buellton restaurant. “I wanted to be closer to wine country and offer a slightly more varied, contemporary menu,” Ostini told me.
Santa Barbara: California's Undiscovered Jewel
United States: California, featured
, Aug 2024
My tastings this year further confirmed what I have believed for a long time. Santa Barbara County is one of the most exciting and dynamic regions in the world. Despite dealing with the ups and downs of 2022, inspired winemakers found a way to deliver compelling wines that rank among the world’s finest. Readers who appreciate nuanced, cool-climate wines of place will find so much to discover in Santa Barbara.
Vinous Table: S.Y. Kitchen, Santa Ynez, CA
United States: California, Vinous Table
, Jul 2024
This recent dinner at S.Y. Kitchen was one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. I am not sure why, but several years had passed since my last visit. That is not a mistake I will make again. Everything we tried was divine.
Chianti Classico: The Magnificent 2021s
Italy: Tuscany, featured
, Jul 2024
Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation. Quality is consistently high across the region, while many wines hit breathtaking peaks of excellence. Last year, I wrote, “The 2021s, in particular, are some of the most exciting young wines I have tasted in more than 25 years of visiting the region.” The top bottlings, those being released this year, more than confirm that initial impression. This is a historic vintage Vinous readers will want to pay close attention to.
Vinous Table: Mustards Grill, Napa, CA
United States: California, Vinous Table
, Jun 2024
A Napa Valley institution, Mustards Grill remains a consistently fine spot to enjoy contemporary American comfort food at its finest. Chef/Owner Cindy Pawlcyn and her team, led by Managing Partner Sean Knight and Executive Chef Michael Foster, serve up a menu of what they call “Deluxe Truck Stop Classics.” I can’t say I have ever seen a truck stop with food like this, though. At a time when so many things change so fast, Mustards is one of my favorite places to eat when I am in Napa Valley.