Jackson Healy, the writer of this story, gets an early Christmas present and makes the most of it. Well done!

If you have a few million dollars to spare, it's a great time to buy a Bordeaux chateau -- as long as you don't expect to create a profitable wine business. www.mansionglobal.com/articles/for...

I think I'm the only journalist in the US to cover this story. H/T to the Russian journalists at Kommersant and The Insider, who risk their freedom to report stories like this. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/uk...

Is a partially gnawed half a bagel with two rats on it a sandwich?

Ukraine's foreign ministry claims credit for getting Russian wines booted from the San Francisco International Wine Competition, where they had been entered in violation of US law. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/uk...

Orange wine is out at trendy wine bars in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chilled reds are in. (Sorry, paywall.) This is good news for growers because nobody has to chase either fad by replanting. These are both styles of wine you can do with many grapes. www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/ar...

Rob Reiner tribute: This is only my second-favorite scene from The Princess Bride. "Who are you? I must know." "Get used to disappointment." www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDlZ...

A San Francisco wine competition has been accused of allowing Russian wines to enter, in violation of US law. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/ru...

If you really want to understand the "manosphere," read this. www.compactmag.com/article/the-...

Wine Production by U.S. State, 2024. California accounts for 78.5% of U.S. wine production, followed by New York (4.2%), Washington (4.0%), and Oregon (2.8%). Behind that are many surprises (e.g., Kentucky #5, New Jersey #8).

Reposado Tequila is a highlight for a flailing spirits industry. Sales were up 11.8% over the past year when almost everything else is down. This is an extremely rare example of an artisanal product succeeding, because Reposados are the best Tequilas. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/re...

Wine marketers are so desperate that I just got an email offering me samples of Pinot Noir ... to pour over ice cream. "Light-to-medium body and red-fruit brightness make this Pinot a natural partner for vanilla’s sweetness — the perfect “pour-over” wine for this trend."

Yellow-Red-Blue, by Wassily Kandinsky, 1925 (detail, rotated), 📸 by @riogiancarlo.bsky.social

"If you’re 25 and terrified of wrecking your liver, you’re focused on the least interesting threat. The real danger is the basement. The silence. The safety ... There’s no prize for reaching 105 with pristine organs and no stories." southold.substack.com/p/no-prize-f...

Terrific column by Nate Silver, with no paywall. You should ask yourself why Richardson doesn't correct herself, even when she's wrong (as in Charlie Kirk's murderer.) I watched Biden in the debate and have a hard time respecting anyone who thought he did well. www.natesilver.net/p/what-is-he...

And people say there's nothing worth watching on Twitter. Here's some of the best restaurant brawling you'll ever see outside of Waffle House! x.com/TL2ACTIVE/st...

I reported this last week as a rumor. I've since had it confirmed: Chateau Ste Michelle, Washington's biggest and most important winery, was indeed given away to grapegrowers for $0, just cancellation of CSM's debt to the family. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/wa...

Good morning wine industry! Here's your daily slap in the face: oceans of wine are available, cheap, but there aren't any buyers. Happy Christmas season! www.the-buyer.net/insight/anal...

I wish I had had a chance to thank Rob Reiner during his lifetime for making two of the most entertaining movies ever, This is Spinal Tap and the Princess Bride. The films will live on, but he will be missed. RIP, Marty DiBergi. You went to 11.

I like Canadian rye whiskey just fine, but I'm sorry, we're just making more interesting whiskey south of that border, and Canadian connoisseurs know it. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/w...

"Mistress Dispeller" is an amazing documentary about an agency that intercedes when a man is having an affair. The access the filmmakers got to all three sides of the love triangle was incredible. Apparently they promised the film will never be shown in China. www.imdb.com/title/tt2206...

Think my oldest person belief is "you don't always need to blast music in between the action at a sporting event"

If you enjoy both baseball and the English language, treat yourself to this delightfully amusing column. H/T to writer Davy Andrews. blogs.fangraphs.com/we-tried-tra...

Sad but true story about current value of wine. While I was on vacation a heavy box was delivered to my apt building. Somebody grabbed it and opened it. It contained two $60 bottles of wine. They left the open box on the floor by the elevator. They must have been disappointed.

Chateau Ste Michelle, the most important winery in Washington state, sold for $1.2 billion just 4 years ago. It was handed off to a family of grapegrowers this week in a deal that might not even include any cash. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/12/wa...

Here is an excellent column explaining why drinking wine in moderation with meals is NOT the same, health-wise, as tossing down shots of Tequila. FYI, this column was rejected by the New York Times, which is committed to neo-Prohibitionism. winereviewonline.com/misguided-us...

Hot take on "Hamnet": If it's supposed to be a feminist version, why does Shakespeare's wife come off as an ignorant millstone on his career?

Please be advised. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

I cannot count the number of times some fact-free food publication has written "nobody drinks Chardonnay anymore."

It’s a bloodbath. washingtonbeerblog.com/rogue-brewer...

I interviewed 4 of the wine industry's leading analysts to ask: When will the wine industry hit bottom? Will we know it when we get there? www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/11/ar...

U.S. Table Wine Consumption by State, 2023

Honestly, the worst Bond film ever…

They're NOT eating the dogs? They're NOT eating the cats? Let's see if we can fix that.

Good article from Wine Enthusiast on the decline in visits to US tasting rooms. TLDR: Wine tasting has become too expensive. Not just tasting fees, which have tripled in less than a decade. The average hotel room in Napa Valley now costs $412/night. www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/indu...

While it is great fun to grow grapes (most of the time) and to make wine as well, one is ultimately faced with the need to actually, y'know, introduce one's product into the arteries of commerce. Which is my job today, schlepping wine to the City's gastronomic places of worship.

Nancy Pelosi has been my representative in Congress since I moved to San Francisco. I want to thank her for her service. Thank you, @SpeakerPelosi. www.sfgate.com/news/politic...

Wine Searcher also covers the UK wine market (I personally don't.) This story was news to me: a change in taxation in the UK is causing wealthy collectors to leave their UK homes and sell off their wine collections, driving down the price of LivEx wines. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/11/fi...

Blake does a nice job covering all the main points regarding old vines. Definitely need to find a way to get consumers to care about the heritage and history of the land to keep these vines in the ground.

Here is my analysis of today's Supreme Court hearing on President Donald Trump's tariffs. Very short version: I think the Court will strike down the tariffs. Read the full story for why, and who I think will provide the deciding vote. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/11/su...

Fluorescent Cerianthus anemone sway in the Coral Morphologic coral museum #coralmorphologic #miami #coralcity

I am listening to the Supreme Court hearing on tariffs and will have a story later today on Wine Searcher. www.wine-searcher.com/magazine

The Old Vine Conference this week attempts to address this: How to get people to care. Surveys show the building matters more than the land to the wine trade, and the land matters more than the plants to consumers. Poor old vines! They get no respect. www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/11/is...

What a great day for old-style anthropromorphic stock-market analysis. "The market rose in the morning based on early returns in the NY mayoral election before plummeting after the NY Jets traded their two best defensive players." Given that half of Wall Street are Jets fans, it's plausible.

I was a guest on the Italian Wine Podcast, talking about the US wine market. Check it out! www.italianwinepodcast.com/Episodes/ep-...

A big wine magazine has a PR article about whiskey that is surprisingly ignorant. ‘Both our whiskey-making and our brand are inseparable from the west,’ is a great quote! The West: wide open spaces, cowboy culture, great whiskey! Except the brand in question was founded on bulk whiskey from Indiana

Sandwich shop asked, "What's a good name for the order?" and I had to wrestle with whether Blake is a good name given that I use a first initial professionally, so maybe Blake isn't good enough for this sandwich? Hungry and conflicted.

On Wednesday the Supreme Court will consider whether President Trump can slap tariffs on every product from Europe. Implications go far beyond wine: it's a test of the President's power. "This verdict could become the Roberts court's defining moment." www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/11/sc...