The Week in Wine: July 26, 2024

The Week in Wine is weekly guide to what's happening around the wine web, curated by the team at The New Wine Review.

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Try this

??? The Guardian’s wine critic signs off with six final bottles for your consideration.

??? A deep-thinker’s guide to getting more out of that bottle you just opened.?

????? A seasoned California critic on the next-gen wineries to watch/find/visit/try.

??? Pairing tips from some of the world’s top sommeliers. “At the level we operate, people want a bit more individuality and a wine that is suited to them, rather than just mechanically matching a wine to food and saying, ‘Yes, that’s what works.’”

??? “Try this light, delightfully bitter red.” (Paywall)

??? The up-and-coming Scotch distilleries you need to know.

Prices, Value, Deals

??? Chablis sales are up 23% in the U.S. this year as Burgundy lovers come around on this “pocket of extreme value.”

?? Navigating the wine list with value in mind: “Mid-range wines can be a safe spot where they're marked up less without costing too much.”?

??? “Wines [shouldn’t be priced] to generate margins to fund fancy tasting rooms designed by a name-brand architect or pay for flash aspirational events and advertising.” Hmmm.

The biz

??? “Overexpansion, too much debt and a surplus of grapes.” One of America’s largest wine producers declares bankruptcy.?

??? The future of the wine market is “far from Rosé.”

??? “The destruction can be clearly seen in the vineyards." Mildew has France’s great wine regions on edge — again.?

??? The “largest and most expensive wine collection ever offered at auction” may have been overflowing with counterfeits. The hot topic among a country’s elites: “have you returned your wine?”?

??? Trouble in Madeira: “Buying grapes has become like a souk, where winemakers who are too slow off the mark lose out.”

“New” regions

??? “If these two places are not completely similar, they are close.” A Burgundian giant’s adventures in Oregon.?

????? The many virtues of South African wine. And five bottles to find right now.

??? Idaho has 5x the number of wineries it did 20 years ago. And 47% of them are women owned. At least one Master of Wine thinks that the volcanic red cinder soils and “complex flavors of European wines” mean it’s time to take Idaho wines seriously. (And here’s another smart take on what’s happening in the Gem State. [Paywall])

????? Sangiovese in Ouagadougou?? Burkina Faso bets on wine.?

????? “It’s the first time we’ve been able to compete on equal terms with the rest of the wine world.” Winemaking takes off in Sweden.

Boooo!

??? Is the French Paradox a mirage? “If you look at the weakest studies, that’s where you see health benefits.”

???? NYT on people who took the winemaking plunge . . . in their backyards. “I can see there is a bigger rabbit hole waiting for me around the corner.”

Woooo!

?? Sunken Champagne treasure! “I wouldn’t call them pleasurable drinks . . . But, of course, it’s like drinking history.”

??? “The best wine flick since Sideways.” (Paywall)

?? Brooklyn’s famed Four Horseman is branching out.?

Up for debate

??? Coverage of the Hugo Spritz has battered us all into submission. Meanwhile, here’s what bartenders really think about the annual rush to crown a Drink of the Summer.

?? The 10 most influential bars in history. Maybe.

?? “As an adult who is not an alcoholic, I am upset about the way the next US dietary guidelines for alcohol are being created. You should be too.”

???? “Hype is now a main course.” The changes that have defined the last decade of dining in America.?