Tag: Wine

More than 3.7 million people visited America’s premier wine region last year, according to a recent economic study, and those visitors are becoming younger and more diverse. That’s good news for Napa Valley wineries just four years after the pandemic shut down almost all visits and at a time when many worry that visiting Napa is becoming increasingly expensive and only attractive to older, wealthier consumers.

The study was conducted for Visit Napa Valley, the county’s tourism marketing organization, by Future Partners, a San Francisco-based travel and tourism marketing research company, which collected data via more than 1,700 surveys. Visit Napa Valley normally conducts such studies every two years, but the reports were put on hold during the pandemic, meaning no data has been collected since 2018.

Visitor Spending Has Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Levels

The biggest finding was that the total number of visitors was down 5 percent from 2018, when 3.9 million people visited. That’s nearly a complete recovery from the pandemic. What’s more, spending by those visitors has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, contributing more than $2.5 billion to the local economy in 2023, a 13 percent increase from 2018, according to the data. While 2.3 million of the visitors were day trippers, the guests who stayed the night in hotels spent more than two-thirds of the hospitality money generated in the valley.

For wineries, particularly smaller wineries that struggle to find national distribution, visitors are their bread and butter, often joining mailing lists and buying direct, which can be an invaluable source of revenue. They also tend to become loyal customers.

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County authorities have been clamping down on winery tourism with increasing restrictions on tasting rooms, which has provoked a lot of grumbling among wineries, who point out that tourism for wineries is a leading source of business and tax revenue for the community. The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County, after the wine industry, providing an estimated 16,000 jobs in the region.

“One of the many positive benefits of these strong economic results is how they directly impact Napa Valley residents’ quality of life,” said Emma Swain, chair of the board of directors for Visit Napa Valley and CEO of Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery, in a statement. “For example, visitors to the Napa Valley pay a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) on every overnight hotel stay. These dollars go directly to our local governments’ general funds to help pay for public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, road repair and more to support a high quality of life for locals.”

Those Visitors are Slowly Becoming Younger and More Diverse

The guests coming to taste are an increasingly younger, diverse group, the study found. While the core visitors to Napa Valley are classified as luxury travelers, usually 50 years and older, with an annual income that exceeds $250,000, the local wine industry hopes to attract more millennials who are just starting to build wealth.

The study found that roughly half of visitors in 2023 were millennials. The average age of visitors was 40, six years younger than the average in 2018. And between 2018 and 2023, the percentage of Black visitors grew from 4 percent to 11 percent; the share of Latino visitors increased from 10 percent to 17 percent; and visitation from the LGBTQ community doubled, from 4 percent to 8 percent in 2023, according to the report.

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Steve Jacobson was not about to throw away his shot to win Wine Spectator’s annual video contest for a third time in a row. While the 2024 competition was incredibly close, “I Just Want a Zinfandel” (a parody of the opening number to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s boundary-breaking Broadway musical Hamilton) won the viewers’ votes and cemented Jacobson’s “Hall of Famer” status in the publication’s reader-submitted video contest.

Spoofing “Hamilton” was Jacobson’s first inclination for his final submission to the publication’s annual video contest. (At one point, he also toyed with the opening number to The Greatest Showman: “It was going to be ‘The Greatest Wine,’” he confesses.) But, cheekily, Jacobson took a cue from Wine Spectator executive editor Jeffery Lindenmuth, when he introduced a screening of his first winning video. “At the 2022 event, Jeffery mentioned from the podium: ‘Maybe someone should introduce Steve to Lin-Manuel Miranda,’” says Jacobson. “I am a big fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work, so I did choose a song that—albeit difficult to write to—was something that I personally enjoyed working with.”

For his previous winning videos, Jacobson tapped his nephews for the vocals: Aaron, a classically trained singer, belted out the Broadway showtime spoof and 2022 winner “Cabernet Tonight,” and Adam, a “rock-and-roller,” captured the style of a Stephen Stills song in 2023 winner “Love the Wine You’re With.” This time? It’s all Jacobson on the track. “[My son and I] went into a recording studio and took five hours to record the two-minute song,” explains Jacobson. “He directed me all along the way and did a brilliant job. It’s funny because when he was like seven, he ended up doing a voiceover for something that I directed him on. And here we are, 20-odd years later, and he’s directing me in the studio.”

For his winning entry, Jacobson has again earned two full weekend passes to Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience. He is still buzzing with excitement from his time at the 2022 Wine Experience. “I’ve worked with a lot of great celebrities throughout my career, but I never really was starstruck,” says Jacobson. “I’m starstruck when it comes to winemakers … [I love] just being able to be in the room with 1,200 of my favorite, closest wine friends and listen to the professionals—watching, learning, participating, tasting and engaging with the community. I love the artistry. I love the craftsmanship, and I have so much respect for people who can do it as well as they do.”

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Other contest finalists kept the tunes going, including the second-place winner, “The Fresh Prince of Rosé,” which tells the story of how Long Island–based winemaker Roman Roth’s “life got flipped-turned upside down” when he moved from Germany to the Hamptons in 1988 and helped Christian Wölffer create Wölffer Estate. While this was Roth’s first submission to the video contest, this wasn’t his first time penning lyrics; every year, the Wölffer partner creates a parody song for staff to perform at the company holiday party. (In 2023, it was “Wine on the Brain,” a reference to a tasting visit they had from singer and businesswoman Rihanna.) “My father always said, if my wine turns to vinegar, I can always go to Broadway,” Roth jokes.

The parody of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s theme was a team effort, with help from Roth’s assistant winemakers, cellar crew, the local airport and even his bishop (that’s where the throne in the intro came from). “It was all organic and local,” says Roth. “We wanted to show that New York wines can stand up to the best wines in the world, but we can have fun as well. There is freedom. We don’t have concrete roots of tradition.”

In contrast, heritage was the driving force behind third-place contest winner “Family Legacy in Sonoma County,” which traces the history of the pioneering Martinelli family, known for their Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Narrated by patriarch Lee Martinelli Sr., his son Lee Martinelli Jr. and winemaker Courtney Robinett Wagoner, the video features stunning drone shots of the family’s different properties across Sonoma—from the steep slopes of Jackass Hill in the Russian River Valley to the rolling rows of Wild Thyme Vineyard in the coastal Fort Ross–Seaview AVA.

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“Family-owned and multi-generational companies in general, but specifically wineries, are becoming fewer and fewer,” says estate director Tessa Gorsuch, a member of the family’s fifth generation. “We also wanted to highlight that we’re farmers. That’s really where my family got started—being grapegrowers. We only keep about 10 to 12 percent of our grapes for our own production.”

Interspersed with shots of lush vineyards are scenes of four generations of Martinellis sitting together at a table, sharing a bottle of wine. “My grandfather [Lee Sr.] is 85 years old, and he still farms six days a week,” says Gorsuch. “The thing that makes him most happy is the future generations getting involved, and us having a sentimentality and a special connection to the land, because that’s how he grew up.” (You can read more about the family in our Sept. 30, 2023, cover story, “Martinelli: Family, Farming, Tradition.”)

The second- and third-place winners have both earned a pair of tickets to either an upcoming New York Wine Experience Grand Tasting evening or a Grand Tour tasting event, as did the other six 2024 video contest finalists. Catch them all, plus an additional five judges’ picks for honorable mentions, and find your own favorite.

Bill Foley knows a good deal when he sees it. A few months after the California-based Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) declared bankruptcy, more than 20 wineries and brands from the firm are set to come under new ownership, after an auction in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. While final approval for the bids is still needed, Foley Family Wines & Spirits is set to acquire Swanson Vineyards, Sonoma Coast Vineyards and Cosentino, as well as the Cherry Pie and Bar Dog brands, for $15 million. As reported by Shanken News Daily, Foley had filed a stalking horse bid that was not exceeded by other bidders.

Jayson Adair of Adair Wines aimed for more premium brands, with his company paying $85 million for Clos Pegase, Girard, B.R. Cohn, Kunde and Viansa. Other brands like Laetitia Vineyard & Winery and Owen Roe were sold to investor Ejnar Knudsen, while Vino.com picked up Layer Cake.

A Rapid Rise and Fall

VWE filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July and voluntarily delisted from the Nasdaq, after the company was unable to engineer a turnaround after months of turmoil. Co-founder and longtime CEO Pat Roney built VWE with a series of acquisitions over the years. He started it in 2009, when he combined Girard Winery, a Napa Valley winery he bought in 2000, with Windsor Vineyards, a Sonoma County producer of private wine labels he and Leslie Rudd, the late founder of Rudd Estate, purchased in 2007.

The VWE brand portfolio grew to include more than 60 labels, with most of its wines priced in the $10 to $20 per bottle range. The Sonoma-headquartered company went public with a $600 million IPO in 2021. Its share price reached a high of $12.63 shortly after the IPO, but fell from there and was sitting at $0.11 when it filed for bankruptcy. Too many of the brands needed to be turned around at a time when the economy was uncertain and credit was tight. In February, 2023, 18 months after the IPO, the company was in financial trouble, and Roney stepped aside as CEO.

VWE owns and leases about 1,850 acres of vineyards and operates 11 wineries and nine tasting rooms, according to court documents. It employs 377 employees. It remains to be seen what the new owners’ plans are.

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For more wine industry news, visit Shanken News Daily.

Neil Empson, founder of Empson & Co. and a pioneering importer of Italian fine wine into the United States, died Sept. 14 after a long battle with cancer. He was 85.

“My father won many battles but lost his most precious war, as he wanted to live and love as he did during his life,” Tara Empson, his daughter and the current CEO of Empson & Co., told Wine Spectator. “He insisted on having sips of wine, even toward his last moments, as it was his pride and joy, as well as my mom, his beloved partner until the end.”

A Kiwi Spreading the Gospel of Italian Wines to the World

Empson was born March 16, 1939, in the district of Waikato in New Zealand, to a family of farmers. He met his wife, Maria Gemma, in 1969. The couple founded Empson & Co. in 1972 in Milan, which became their home base. He recognized the potential of Italian wines and introduced Americans to producers from around Italy as the nation’s wine quality revolution evolved during the 1970s and 1980s. He would bring in new names like Angelo Gaja who would eventually become icons in the American market.

Empson USA was created in 1991 and Empson Canada in 2000, solidifying the import and distribution of wines from across Italy. The company would grow and expand to wines from California, Oregon, New Zealand and Chile.

Dominic Nocerino, who created Vinifera Imports in 1979 to represent fine Italian wines, also started in the wine business in 1972. “I first met Neal in Chicago in 1974,” he recalled. “At the time he was one of the few quality Italian importers in the United States. He was a pioneer for our industry and believed in the quality of Italian wine long before many others did. He will be truly missed.”

Importing Wine Means Finding Your Way with Grace

I first met Neil in 2008, when I moderated a seminar on Italian wines from Empson’s portfolio as part of Wine Spectator’s Seminar Series at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Two years later, I began covering Piedmont and Tuscany for the magazine.

We met up again in November 2010 in Piedmont, where I visited Luigi Einaudi and Marcarini, two of Empson’s producers. I had a few days in Milan before returning to the U.S., so Neil invited me to the Empson offices to taste through their Piedmont and Tuscan wines. Tasting that day, I was impressed with the Empson estates that worked with consulting enologist Franco Bernabei. He imparted an elegant touch, particularly to wines from Il Molino di Grace, a Chianti Classico winery that had recently been purchased by American Frank Grace.

The following year, on a trip to Tuscany, I visited Bernabei’s lab in the Chianti Classico commune of Greve, followed by an appointment at Il Molino di Grace. Neil joined us. We had all been invited to dinner after the tasting, so I offered to drive Neil to Panzano and Il Molino di Grace.

We toured the winery and tasted, then made our way to the main house. Being November, it was dark, and my rental car struggled up a steep gravel road. After about five minutes and no sign of the house, I asked Neil if we were going in the correct direction. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ve never been here.” (There’s a potential metaphor for discovering fine wines and importing them here.) Needless to say, we arrived and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.

When I shared the news of Neil’s passing with Grace, he responded via email, “It was my relationship with Neil as an import partner that single-handedly put Il Molino di Grace on the map in the United States. Being part of Neil’s portfolio suggested a certain Old World charm, and, dare I say, grace.”

Neil was a warm, funny and compassionate man, always quick with a humorous story. He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Maria; his children Tara Empson, Tracy Rudich and Paul Empson; and his siblings Heather, Margaret and Graham.

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Washington’s wine industry can draw some star power, whether it’s actor and vintner Kyle MacLachlan or winemaking rock star Christophe Baron. Both pitched in to raise money for a great cause at last month’s 37th annual Auction of Washington Wines (AWW). The weekend pulled in $4.25 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital, Washington State University’s Viticulture and Enology program and industry grant partner Vital Wines, which provides healthcare and other resources to vineyard workers.

The total was higher than the $4 million raised in both 2023 and 2022. (Wine Spectator was a premier sponsor of this year’s event.) Since the first auction in 1988, the event has raised over $67 million.

Celebrating Washington Wines in Style

The three-day event kicked off at Sparkman Cellars on Aug. 8 with the TOAST! Industry Awards, which honored established and emerging leaders in Washington wine including Baron and Kiona, the first winery to plant vines in the Red Mountain AVA and a leader in sustainability. The next day, the winemaker picnic and barrel auction drew over 1,000 attendees to the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle, where unreleased cases of wine from 35 wineries raised $125,000 at a live auction.

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On Aug. 10, over 500 wine lovers gathered at the culminating live auction and gala to bid on 27 lots, 22 of which included wine. The auction raised over $930,000, with other funds raised in silent and online auctions, plus a record-setting live paddle raise that brought in over $2 million for Seattle Children’s.

“What gives me the most satisfaction at our events is witnessing the camaraderie and unity that is so incredibly special within the Washington wine industry in the room, seeing our industry luminaries and generous donors ready for a party and excited to raise money for a good cause,” executive director Jamie Peha told Wine Spectator.

Rare Wines Meet Luxury Travel

As in recent years, live-auction lots combined personalized travel packages with coveted wines. The top lot was a seven-day trip for four to Antinori’s Tuscan vineyards (sold for a total of $108,000) and a seven-night stay for six in a deluxe villa in Andalucía, Spain ($105,000).

Other wine-related lots generated special enthusiasm from bidders. A quintet of magnums (2014, 2013, 2007, 2003 and 2002) from Quilceda Creek sold for $45,000, while a 28-vintage vertical from DeLille dating to 1994 raised $16,000. The chance to be wined and dined by MacLachlan at a private Los Angeles club, dubbed the ‘La La Land Luxury Lunch,’ sold for $30,000.

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Peha noted that bidders seem equally interested in lots featuring travel and rare wines. “It’s always rewarding to curate lots that our donors want and to include a good variety. And there are so many that have a natural crossover between travel experiences and wine,” she said.

Washington Star Power

Many notable Washington wine industry legends and celebrities were in attendance, including Bob Betz, longtime winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle and co-founder of Betz Family Vineyards. More than 300 wineries, including Cayuse, Col Solare and Klipsun, participated over the course of the three days. At the gala and live auction, each table featured a winemaker host showing off a portfolio of their wines to pair with dinner, which was prepared by a team of local chefs.

[article-img-container][src=2024-09/ns_washington-auction-betz-090524_1600.jpg] [credit= (Curbow Photo)] [alt= Bob and Cathy Betz at the 2024 Auction of Washington Wines][end: article-img-container]

Also bringing star power to the crowd were MacLachlan, who will appear at next month’s New York Wine Experience, and Sidney Rice, the former NFL player and owner of Dossier Wine Collective. The Saturday gala featured music by Rizo Love.

Good Wines for a Great Cause

The event benefits three arms of Seattle Children’s, one of the country’s leading children’s hospitals. Funds raised support the Tri-Cities and Wenatchee clinics, both located near Washington’s major vineyard areas, as well as uncompensated care and the homelessness prevention fund.

The auction also supports Washington State University’s Wine Science Center, one of the country’s major research centers for viticulture and winemaking. The third beneficiary, Vital Wines, promotes access to healthcare for vineyard workers through programs including free health screenings and eyeglasses for workers’ children.

Next year’s gala and live auction will take place on August 16, 2025, in Woodinville.

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Three Napa wineries filed a joint lawsuit against Napa County in federal court yesterday, alleging that county officials systematically violated their constitutional rights. The wineries—Summit Lake Vineyards, Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery and Hoopes Vineyard—filed the complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

This is the just latest development in a growing battle with the county. Vintners and growers cite government overreach, confusing regulations, inconsistent enforcement and more. Multiple parties have filed lawsuits regarding use permits and water rights in recent years.

Four million tourists visit Napa annually, and many stop at small wineries. In 2015, 68 percent of Napa wineries produced fewer than 20,000 cases per year. There is a growing concern that the county is not supporting its biggest economic draw, especially when it comes to small wineries. Many small-winery owners have grievances with the county government, including fights to get approval for new construction and mandated wastewater treatment upgrades. There’s also a federal investigation over possible corruption in the permitting process, with the FBI subpoenaing records from several wineries.

In their complaint, the three wineries argue that the “County of Napa regulates wineries within the County not based on clear, understandable ordinances, but rather upon an ever-changing patchwork of undocumented ‘policies’ and procedures. The few written ordinances Napa County does have are so vague that county wineries are unable to decipher what is and is not allowed and so vague as to allow Napa County officials to use their unfettered discretion to restrict winery operations as they see fit.”

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“Only by going to the federal courts can we protect our constitutional rights to ensure fairness in being regulated by Napa County,” said Lindsay Hoopes, owner of Hoopes Vineyard, in a statement.

The county filed a lawsuit against Hoopes in state court five years ago, accusing her of violating rules by hosting tastings and yoga classes. Hoopes argues her winery has an existing small winery exemption for tastings, but county officials claim it is not valid. In August, Hoopes filed a motion to dismiss the case after finding new evidence that allegedly shows the county secretly changed the property entitlements of her winery and more than 20 others.

The owners of Smith-Madrone and Summit Lake were also granted small winery exemptions when Napa passed its Winery Definition Ordinance in 1990, which they argue has always allowed for tastings. But they were both informed in recent years that wasn’t the case.

Smith-Madrone owner Stu Smith has hosted tastings at his winery since his use permit was approved in the early 1970s. “Now, 48 years later, without my being notified or being allowed to be present to defend my rights,” he told Wine Spectator, “the county arbitrarily and capriciously changed my permitting to zero visitors a day and somehow came up with 10 visitors a week.”

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The wineries argue in the lawsuit that the First Amendment and California law protect their rights to host visitors and events in their tasting rooms and serve samples and glasses of wine. The county further violates their rights, they say, when it requires wineries to get prior approval before hosting events while it regulates cultural events based upon the message delivered at those events.

Smith and Heather Brakesman-Griffin of Summit Lake Vineyard said in a joint statement, “Whether it’s unfair and capricious manipulation of the winery database, ever-changing interpretations of the road and street standards or other issues, there is a desperate need to find fairness, professionalism and integrity in how we are regulated.”

Napa officials told Wine Spectator they could not comment until they had reviewed the complaint.

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Who’s behind it: Last month, chef and humanitarian José Andrés opened his fifth Las Vegas restaurant, Bazaar Mar, in the Shops at Crystals, a luxury shopping destination on the Las Vegas Strip. A counterpart to the chef’s Bazaar Meat, which offers a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine program just down the road at the SAHARA resort, Bazaar Mar is a Spanish tapas eatery with whimsical seafood dishes, in sync with Andrés’ cooking style.

Here, guests are welcomed into a theatrically designed dining room that incorporates oceanic elements with shades of orange and emerald green, as well as details like marble centaurs and ceramic Sicilian teste di moro (male and female heads adorned with crowns).

“We’ve received phenomenal feedback from our guests, who trust us to take them on an incredible journey of the sea and create a special experience for them,” Bazaar Mar head chef Daniela Romero told Wine Spectator via email. “They love the decor and ambiance, the details we incorporate in the service we provide, and our creative and playful dishes.”

When it opened: Aug. 7

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The culinary approach: Bazaar Mar’s menu weaves in elements of molecular gastronomy and staples of Andrés’ repertoire, such as liquid olives (made famous by chef Ferran Adrià at El Bulli in Spain), “Neptune’s Pillow” (spicy tuna served over puffed “air bread”) and “Honey, I Shrunk the Elote” with popcorn powder. The team incorporated a large portion of the original Bazaar Mar menu, Romero noted, while adding new and exciting dishes like Catalan Rossejat (a paella-style pasta), lobster salpicon and grilled Ora King salmon served with salmon roe and Meyer lemon. The dessert menu also features creative offerings, including “Key Lime Beach,” a “sand castle” of graham cracker crumble served with “lime air,” a foam that looks like waves breaking on shore.

What’s on the wine list: Sommelier Roy Arias oversees the wine program, which has a strong focus on Spain, as well as on leading Bordeaux châteaus. The list features around 220 selections, backed by a cellar containing more than 1,600 bottles, with a range of seafood-friendly Sherry, white and sparkling wines from the likes of R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia and Josep Maria Raventós i Blanc. For reds, options include bottlings such as Señorio de San Vicente Rioja and Bodegas Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico from Spain, as well as knockout wines like Château Latour Pauillac 1990.

A second opening: In tandem with Bazaar Mar, Andrés also opened Bar Centro one floor below. The versatile space doubles as a coffee shop by day and a cocktail lounge by night. “Bar Centro allows guests to enjoy a range of experiences throughout the day, from coffee, tea and pastries in the morning, to cocktails, caviar and elevated bites in the evening,” Romero explained.—Chris Cardoso

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Emmer & Rye Team Opens Isidore in San Antonio, Texas

Who’s behind it: Isidore is the latest project from Texas-based Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group, a collection of restaurants in Austin and San Antonio that includes Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner Hestia and Award of Excellence winner Emmer & Rye. Isidore is the fourth full-service restaurant inside Pullman Market, which the group debuted earlier this year just a short distance from San Antonio’s iconic River Walk, in the historic Pearl District.

When it opened: Aug. 13

What’s on the wine list: Wine director Ali Schmidt, who leads the wine programs for all of Emmer & Rye’s concepts, told Wine Spectator via email that “the wine list at Isidore is meant to complement the cuisine, which honors the bounty of Texas.” Schmidt has assembled 200 wine selections, with 16 available by the glass and 1,200 bottles in the cellar. She hopes to grow the list to more than 250 offerings and to feature more Texas wines and mature vintages in the future.

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“The list highlights our local Texas wine industry, featuring the producers in our backyard, alongside the best wines of the world,” said Schmidt. “We are particularly proud to showcase wines from small Texas producers like Doug Lewis of Lewis Wines, Randy Hester of C.L. Butaud and Rae Wilson of La Valentía.”

While plenty of restaurants in up-and-coming wine regions feature a token local bottling or two, Isidore is serious about spotlighting Texas wines. A quarter of the by-the-glass offerings are from Texas, and a section of the bottle list is devoted to Texas reds (all priced less than $100). Outside the reds, there are other styles of Texas wine, from Albariño to a Madeira-style dessert wine. If you’re in the mood for something stronger, check out the admirable selection of Bourbon and Texas whiskey.

The picks from the rest of the wine world feature classic regions and leading wineries alongside offbeat styles and less familiar producers. Here, white Burgundy from Domaine Leflaive mingles with “Party Boy,” a Riesling-based orange wine from Good Boy Wines in Santa Barbara. Wine lovers looking to splurge on something special will find plenty of solid options, including mature bottlings and magnums, but the list generally offers good value. Overall, many bottles are priced $50 or less and a good number cost less than $100.

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Schmidt’s style yokes unassuming vinous know-how to lighthearted whimsy. A large section of the list is devoted to “Bordeaux Grapes, Around the World” featuring wines from producers such as Inglenook and DeLille. In contrast, another section is called “Rosé That Takes Itself Seriously and You Should Too,” which is anchored by a Merlot rosé from Bordeaux’s Château Le Puy.

The culinary approach: Isidore’s menu is divided into four sections: a raw bar, snacks, small plates and mains “from the hearth.” Across the menu, there’s an affinity for fermentation and other contemporary techniques; among the accompaniments and dressings are nitro potato, bread aminos, lactic strawberry, pickled sea purslane and bee balm kombucha.

Isidore’s culinary team highlights Texas ingredients in dishes that combine sophistication and hominess. Tomato pie is served with pimento cheese and crème fraîche, while shrimp meatballs accompany okra stew. The mains lean toward hearty proteins, with three steak options, a dry-aged Berkshire pork chop and a heritage half-chicken. There’s also a hot pot of farm vegetables with Texas grains and mushroom dashi, plus blueline tilefish with mousseline, tomato and sweet pepper rouille.

For dessert, consider the s’mores, with toasted meringue standing in for the marshmallow. Or, for a true taste of Texas, try the cheesecake with a sorbet of the official state plant, the prickly pear cactus.—Kenny Martin

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Otium Closes in Downtown Los Angeles

What’s happening: Downtown Los Angeles restaurant Otium is closing after nearly 10 years serving chef Tim Hollingsworth’s eclectic menu and standout wines. The restaurant team announced the closure in an Instagram post, citing “unprecedented challenges” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The post also indicated that the team is actively looking to reopen elsewhere in the city. “Otium has always been more than just a place to eat; it has been a gathering spot for friends, families and locals, a place where memories were made and shared,” the Instagram post read. “While we are closing our doors at this location, we are hopeful about the future for Otium.”

When it’s closing: Sept. 8

Why it matters to wine and food lovers: Hollingsworth, who spent 13 years at Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry (including four as chef de cuisine), opened Otium in 2015, quickly gaining attention in the L. A. dining scene. His menu offers a wide-ranging mix of dishes—incorporating influences from Asia, the Middle East, Italy and beyond—prepared in an expansive open kitchen and served to guests in a buzzy dining room. The restaurant has earned Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence since 2017, and its commitment to wine is readily apparent: Otium’s 3,500-bottle collection is on display in a large, translucent tower, which is so tall that staff must use ladders to reach the top shelves. Highlights from the list include multiple bottlings of Dom Pérignon and familiar names like Bond and Château Cos-d’Estournel. However, in keeping with the menu, selections from lesser-known wine regions are also on offer, including Lebanon, Slovenia and England.

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Looking ahead: Hollingsworth has other projects in the works. Chain, his recent collaboration with actor B.J. Novak, is a pop-up offering elevated renditions of popular fast-food items. Chain has steadily grown since its inception in 2022 and will be hosting food festivals in Los Angeles and New York City later this year.

There’s no word on what will take over the eye-catching minimalist building that houses Otium at Broad Museum Plaza, just beside the Broad, a contemporary art museum. Designed by late architect Osvaldo Maiozzi, the building—with prominent wood panels and floor-to-ceiling windows—cuts a striking figure in the Bunker Hill neighborhood.—Greg Warner

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Archeologists digging in the Negev desert in southern Israel have uncovered evidence of a booming wine industry dating back more than 1,500 years. They have also found and genetically analyzed two ancient winegrape varieties that thrived in the hot, dry climate of the region. Some members of Israel’s young wine industry hope to use the grapes to produce wines with a link to the region’s long history.

Napa for the Byzantine Empire?

Prof. Guy Bar-Oz is a bio-archaeologist at the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa who began digging in the region in 2015 and at the Avdat archaeological site in 2018. His goal was to find out why the people who lived there 1,500 years ago abandoned the region. His early excavations focused on middens, ancient trash piles. He and his colleagues were surprised by how many grape pips they dug up.

The ancient city of Avdah (or Abdah) was founded in the 1st century BCE by the Nabataeans, a people who ruled parts of modern-day Israel, Jordan and Syria. They are best known for building the ancient city of Petra, their capital, and were neighbors of ancient Judea. Avdah was an important town between Petra and Gaza, part of a trade route for spices. Later, the Nabataeans’ land was absorbed into the Roman and then Byzantine empires. The region has strong links to our collective wine past.

By 600 CE, the population living in Avdat were Greek speakers and Christian. They lived on the eastern edge of the vast Byzantine empire, which controlled much of the land touching the Mediterranean sea. The hinterlands of Gaza were used for agriculture, and these vintners had access to the trade routes of the empire and the kingdoms in what is today Western Europe. Adding to their good fortune, Jerusalem was a busy pilgrimage destination, bringing visitors from all over. In other words, it was a good market for wine.

The evidence for commercial wine production in the area is persuasive. Archeologists have uncovered large wine presses, the remains of pressed grapes, dovecotes positioned to provide guano to fertilize the vines, the traces of irrigation systems—everything necessary to prosper at viticulture in a marginal environment.

“They didn’t have enough water so they built water systems to collect water during the winter,” said Dr. Meirav Meiri, curator of Bioarcheology and Head of the Animal and Plant Ancient DNA Laboratory at the Steinhardt Museum in Tel Aviv, who worked on the research. “From these sites we can see that the people who lived there knew how to take advantage of what they had to have a successful life.”

Ancient grapes

The researchers decided they needed to learn more about the grape remains they found. “We wanted to know what varieties they grew,” said Meiri. “Did they bring them from somewhere else in the Byzantine empire or Europe, or were they local varieties?”

Over the last few decades the Negev has become trendy place to plant a vineyard, but the vines are international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon. The ancient varieties have been lost.

The archeological team gathered grape pips from three sites and used target-enriched genomic-wide sequencing and radiocarbon dating to determine the grapes’ lineage. They also sequenced modern indigenous cultivars as well as wild and feral grapes gathered across Israel.

They found that the Byzantine farmers grew numerous, genetically diverse grapes in field blends. “Maybe this diversity [in the vineyards] was a strategy for food security,” said Bar-Oz. Different varieties might have been more resistant to disease or drought, ripen earlier or later. “And if they all ripen on the same day, you’ll have problems bringing them to the wine press.”

Two pips were of particular interest. A33 is a direct relative, likely a parent-offspring relationship, of the modern Lebanese grape Asswad Karech, also known as Syriki in Greece. “It’s amazing,” said Meiri. “It has many names, but it’s the same variety, and it’s still growing in the region, but not in Israel.”

Another pip, A32, is the oldest white wine grape identified so far. And some think it could be a link to a legendary white wine of Gaza. There are literary references in Europe, from the fifth and sixth centuries, extolling the quality of a sweet white wine, Vinum Gazum or Gaza wine. Wine was known by its port of origin, and the amphorae used to ship the wine would have been unique to that region.

But experts don’t know for sure where the Gaza merchants sourced their wine. Avdah was on the trade route to Gaza and the port would have been a two-day walk from the Negev vineyards. The archeologists know that wine for export was carried by camel in elongated amphorae, easily stacked, then shipped by sea. Wine for local and regional consumption was stored in smaller, round vessels. Significant quantities of shards from Gaza amphorae have been found in Western Europe and the British Isles. But after the sixth century, the luxury elixir disappears from records.

Pip A32 was discovered in a sealed room in a Byzantine monastery, dating to the eight century. That’s after the heyday of Gaza wine production, which ended mysteriously two hundred years earlier. Christian monasteries remained and they produced wine for their own consumption. Could the monks have kept the famous Gaza wine growing through the centuries of political, economic and social upheaval?

A mysterious end

The evidence shows that for two centuries, the winemakers enjoyed a boom economy. And suddenly they didn’t. But the reason for the collapse of the once flourishing wine industry remains a mystery.

“We could see from the way the houses were built that they meant to stay forever, but something went wrong,” said Bar-Oz. “What happened?”

One theory lays the blame on the Muslim conquest, around 640 CE, but carbon dating reveals that wine production largely dried up more than 100 years earlier. Archeologists found houses had been sealed with stones, methodically, with care, as if to protect them until their owners returned.

Two other theories—climate change and the plague—were also explored. From the evidence found at the three sites, it does not appear that either pushed this wine-centric society to collapse. The reason was probably economic. It was a time of upheaval, and the empire’s eastern territories, which relied on Byzantine globalization, may have lost their export markets, leading to a collapse in the local economy. “The facts tell a complex story,” said Bar-Oz.

But soon it could be possible to taste an authentic Negev wine from ancient grapes, possibly even the legendary white wine of Gaza. A research grant has helped propagate the two ancient grapes and plant five acres in the Negev highlands, bringing the ancient Byzantine vineyards to the 21st century. The researchers plan to begin planting the vineyard in September.

Maison Joseph Drouhin has purchased two estates in Burgundy, totaling nearly 50 acres of vineyards: Château de Chasselas in the St.-Véran appellation and the Rapet estate in St.-Romain. The company did not disclose the price.

Château de Chasselas includes 17.3 acres in the St.-Véran appellation, plus small parcels of Chasselas and Beaujolais. It’s already the main supplier of Drouhin’s St.-Véran wine. The property has a historic château that was purchased by Millesime, a hotel and restaurant group, which plans to convert it into a boutique hotel.

The Rapet estate in St.-Romain includes 19.8 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in St.-Romain, as well as small parcels of Auxey-Duresses red and white, Pommard and Meursault.

“We are deeply rooted in Burgundy, it remains small and we see more competition and difficulty in acquiring vineyards and buying grapes,” Frédéric Drouhin, president of Maison Joseph Drouhin, told Wine Spectator. “This allows us to secure our supply. Great vineyards from famous appellations are way too expensive. It didn’t make sense for us to looks for a property in Puligny or Chambolle.”

The deal to buy the Rapet parcels in St.-Romain was completed last fall. “We were already buying grapes from that estate,” said Drouhin. “We studied all the parcels and decided to buy. It’s a great area and cooler than Meursault or Beaune. It doesn’t have the fame, but is less expensive. We feel it’s a good price point, good style of wine and a good story.”

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The debut vintage of Drouhin’s St.-Romain is the 2022; the inaugural bottling of St.-Véran Château de Chasselas will be the 2023, released in 2024. All the parcels are being converted to organic farming.

The acquisitions bring the total holdings of Maison Joseph Drouhin to nearly 250 acres of vines stretching from Chablis to Mâcon, covering 60 appellations and including 14 grands crus and 20 premier crus. Drouhin’s first vineyards were parcels in Beaune Clos des Mouches bought by Maurice Drouhin in 1921. Drouhin also farms 130 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Oregon’s Dundee Hills.

The company is run today by four siblings: Frédéric, its president; Véronique, in charge of winemaking; vineyard manager Philippe; and Laurent, who oversees sales and marketing in North America and the Caribbean.

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The Miami dining boom continues! On June 3, multi-floor culinary destination Julia & Henry’s opens near Miami’s Bayfront Park, in a 1936-built Art Deco building that once housed one of the first Walgreens stores. Part of a growing downtown community, the space promises a number of projects from celebrated chefs and beverage professionals, and Florida-based King Goose Hospitality is overseeing operations.

The complex was announced in 2021 as a new project from School of Whales, a real-estate fund focused on historic buildings. Founded by entrepreneurs Andrea Petersen, Daniel Pena-Giraldi and J.J. Giraldi, the fund is publicly open to anyone able to make an investment of at least $500.

“Miami is one of the few cities that doesn’t have a downtown that is really the hub of activity,” Petersen told Wine Spectator. “That’s starting to change. And part of [our] vision is—with this building—to bring downtown back to its heyday.”

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Spread across seven levels, Julia & Henry’s is named after 19th-century Miami developer Julia Tuttle and industrialist-tycoon Henry Flagler (as in East Flagler Street, where the building is located, and Florida’s Flagler College). The first three floors are devoted to food halls, with 26 concepts altogether, and the fourth and fifth floors feature a recording studio and rehearsal rooms for music collaborations. The basement hosts a “high energy sound room,” Jolene, and a showstopping restaurant is coming to the roof. Let’s lay it all out:

• On the first floor will be European market–style restaurants and La Época, a wine bar named after the department store that previously occupied the building. Karina Iglesias is overseeing the wine program there—with a focus on organic and natural selections—and throughout the rest of Julia & Henry’s.

• Along with comfort foods and live music, the second floor will feature a new location from Miami-based Boxelder Craft Beer Market.

• The third floor will boast international cuisine options and a cocktail bar, The Lasseter.

“[Julia & Henry’s] was thoughtfully curated to represent some of the best talent that Miami has to offer and the best talent that Miami can attract, being such an international hub,” Petersen explained. The dining concepts collectively spotlight the work of many leading Florida, Latin American and South American chefs and drinks professionals. Among them, local chef-restaurateur and TV host/judge Michelle Bernstein is launching Michy’s Chicken Shack and the Cuban-cuisine Luncheria, and José Mendín of the Pubbelly Restaurant Group—working with chef Jorge Mijangos—is opening a burger spot, June, and a gyoza concept, Hitchihaika. Peruvian chef-butcher Renzo Garibaldi is bringing a new location of Osso to the complex, while Argentina’s Tomás Kalika, chef-owner of Mishiguene, will debut a Jewish-cuisine eatery called Mensch.

• The Julia & Henry’s roof is set for Torno Subito, a new restaurant from acclaimed Italian chef Massimo Bottura, who is best-known for his Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, considered to be one of the best restaurants in the world. Bottura premiered this contemporary Italian concept in Dubai, and the new location will offer much of the same flare and cuisine. Chef Bernardo Paladini, formerly of the Dubai restaurant and Osteria Francescana, will lead the kitchen.

“Every time something opens in Downtown Miami, people flock to it, because there are very few offerings. People are craving this activity,” said Petersen, who notes how excited she is to watch guests “enjoy and really have access to all these incredible concepts under one roof and at an accessible price point.”—C.D.

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Seasons 52 Expands in Texas

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On May 20, grill–wine bar Seasons 52 arrived in San Antonio, Texas, joining locations in Houston and Plano, as well as dozens of Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning siblings across the U.S, all part of the Darden Restaurants Group.

Like the other Seasons 52 restaurants, the San Antonio newcomer exclusively offers dishes with fewer than 595 calories on its seasonal menu. Executive chef and restaurant partner Brandon Kimball offers plates such as wood-grilled corn, watermelon-tomato salad and spiced bacon flatbread, with many preparations employing the restaurant’s oak-fire grill and brick oven.

Erika Godsey, who leads beverage strategy at all Seasons 52 locations, oversees the 80-label wine program alongside managing restaurant partner Jennifer Patterson. The list features Sonoma Pinot Noir, Washington Cabernet, Bordeaux, Australian Shiraz and much more, including seasonal flights such as a recent spotlight on California’s The Prisoner Wine Company and another on Spain’s Miguel Torres. “We pride ourselves on our acclaimed Wine Bar, where guests can experience the same discovery and balance as the rest of our menu,” Godsey said via email. Alternatively, guests can expect a range of cocktails, such as a Hawaiian pineapple cosmopolitan or a rosé lemonade.

“I am excited to bring our balanced approach to food and wine to more people in Texas and to build a team here,” said Patterson. “I have been welcomed to the community by the nicest of people, and I am honored to not only provide a diverse environment and positive culture for my team, but serve these great people in our new restaurant!”—C.D.

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Dom Pérignon Launches Scholarship Program with Culinary Institute of America

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In May, the team behind leading Champagne label Dom Pérignon announced that it is sponsoring a new merit-based scholarship program, the Dom Pérignon Scholarship Fund, for students at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), which has multiple campuses, including in Hyde Park, N.Y., and St. Helena, Calif.

On an ongoing basis, the program will provide full funding for 20 students working toward their two-year Master of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts degree, which is the first degree of its kind, according to the CIA. Additionally, Dom Pérignon has underwritten a grant to help the master’s program develop further in the coming years. (The Champagne house also awards scholarships to students working toward qualifications from the Institute of Masters of Wine.)

“Dom Pérignon’s creative ambition is a perpetual quest for harmony as a source of emotion—a quest that is shared by great chefs in our mutual ambition to create memorable meals and pairings,” said Dom Pérignon chef du cave Vincent Chaperon in a statement. “Our vision is to nurture a profound appreciation for the art of living in the next generation. The Dom Pérignon Scholarship Fund, made possible through the Culinary Institute of America, is the first step in bringing that vision to life.”

While improving their kitchen skills and learning the culture and history of restaurants, the master’s candidates will study subjects necessary for becoming a successful chef-restaurateur: marketing and media, the relationship between wine and food, human resources and compliance training, effective food systems and sustainable agriculture.

In addition to the online courses, they will get hands-on experience as paid interns this inaugural year at one of three acclaimed restaurants in Northern California: Wine Spectator Grand Award winners the French Laundry and SingleThread Farms and Best of Award of Excellence winner Californios, studying under culinary leaders like Thomas Keller and Kyle Connaughton. The students will get additional required experience through immersive residencies at CIA’s campus in Hyde Park, N.Y., and at Dom Pérignon’s Champagne headquarters.

Connaughton hopes the students will get their hands dirty, quite literally, while immersing themselves in every facet of SingleThread’s farm-to-table structure, including working at the restaurant’s farm. As he explained to Wine Spectator via email, he hopes the students will, above all else, learn to focus more on how they source and treat food. He will also encourage them to carefully choose whom they partner with at their future restaurants while building a sustainable community through suppliers and partners as well as their staff.

“We, as chefs, have a responsibility to be and become mentors,” Connaughton explained. “We are responsible for training the next generation of thoughtful leaders. I look at opportunities like this and think about what I would have loved to have had and could have benefited from. There’s no better way to pay that forward to the next generation than to create the programs you wish you had.”

Applications for the Dom Pérignon Scholarship Fund are currently open until June 15, 2023. Ideal candidates would be chefs with several years of experience in kitchens who hope to become chef-restaurateurs.—J.L.

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Chicago Restaurants Raise Funds for Flood Relief in Italy

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Heavy rains devastated Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region in May, causing landslides and floods that reportedly displaced tens of thousands of people and killed at least 15. The storms have left mass destruction in their wake, and rebuilding will be challenging. But organizations around the world are offering help, including a group of well-known Italian restaurants in Chicago. Organized by philanthropic organization Chicago Chefs Cook and the National Italian American Foundation, the restaurants are hosting Chicago Chefs Cook Presents: The Emilia Romagna Dinner Series to raise relief funds for farmers in Emilia-Romagna.

“The Chicago Chefs Cook organization was created to ensure that those in the most dire state of adversity are nourished,” said Prairie Grass Cafe chef-owner Sarah Stegner, a member of the Chicago Chefs Cook leadership team, in a statement. “The devastation experienced by farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region is on the collective conscience of the Chicago culinary community, and we could not just sit on the sidelines watching.”

From June 8 to 12, the restaurants are hosting a range of dining experiences and donating the proceeds to organizations such as the Italian American Relief Fund, which was founded to provide aid after earthquakes hit Northern Italy, primarily Emilia-Romagna, in 2012. A number of Chicago chefs are also adding dishes to their menus (or to those at host restaurants) that will raise additional funds. Among the participating restaurants are several Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners, including Gibsons Italia, GT Prime, RPM Italian, Testaccio and The Village (or Italian Village), alongside other Windy City mainstays like Alla Vita, Gene & Georgetti, Il Milanese, Nonnina and more.—C.D.