Bill Nesto

During the mid to late 199Os, the Italian wine industry had never seen it so good. Every year indicated steady growth on all fronts. Fantasy wines with virtual reputations and very real high price tags, waltzed into the marketplace. Producers increased their prices every year causing a domino-effect that ended... Read More

Tuscany’s 2OO4 vintage now rests quietly in containers of steel, oak and concrete. In February 2OO5, at a series of tastings organized in Tuscany by the consortiums of Chianti Classico, Montepulciano and Montalcino, I sipped barrel and tank samples of 2OO4s. I sensed their future profiles. I can’t say that... Read More

THE CENTRAL COAST IS OFF THE RADAR SCREEN.” said Ian McFadden, wine director at Marty’s in Allston. “Consumers have no idea where the Central Coast is or how the wines are different.” At the 2OO6 Boston Wine Expo, I decided to ask Central Coasters what comprised the Central Coast. I... Read More

The Hospices de Beaune provides convalescent and medical services to the citizens of Beaune, the medieval town which is in the heart of the Burgundian wine industry. The Hospices uses the auction of wines made from grapes in its vineyards to help fund its work. Hence the motives of the... Read More

In the current film Sideways, the personality of the principle character, Miles, is identified with that of his favorite varietal wine, Pinot Noir. Many say, though it is arguable, that Pinot Noir is enhanced by the presence of low-level wine faults. Because Miles gets roaring drunk whenever he gets angry,... Read More

Sophie Larmandier (Champagne Larmandier-Bernier), of Vertus in the southern end of the Cote des Blancs, and her husband, Pierre, have taken a biodynamic course as a way to nurse their land back to health. Pointing down at the ground in her vineyard, she exclaimed, “This soil is alive again. Pierre’s... Read More

“I really don’t want a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Chardonnay,” I told the waitperson in a restaurant and pointed to a wine on the list. “Please bring me this one listed under Gravel over Clay.” This is the fantasy of a diehard wine terroirist: to have wines identified by soil... Read More

During the 197Os, the California wine trade touted Zinfandel as its very own grape variety while it was quietly aware that its origin lay somewhere else. In the last few years, researchers have discovered that not only has this variety had a longer commercial history in Italy where it is... Read More

My interest in writing an article about the Oregon wine industry came to life when some friends asked me to locate some older bottles of Oregon Pinot Noir for a dinner we would enjoy together. I soon learned that bottles from the 197Os simply did not exist here in the... Read More