Bâtard has quickly become one of my favorite spots in New York City. Chef Markus Glocker’s unique brand of comfort food hits all the right notes, while the room is warm and welcoming. Two recent dinners were fabulous. For the sake of simplicity, I have combined both dinners here.

Since opening on the last day of 2011, State Bird Provisions has been surrounded by a relentless buzz. Owned by husband and wife chef team Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinsk, State Bird has already earned a Michelin Star and been nominated by the James Beard Foundation twice, first as the best new restaurant in the country in 2013 and then as best chefs in the West in 2015. While such luminous accolades might call to mind visions of white tablecloths and candlelight, the reality is actually quite the opposite.

Bâtard is restaurateur Drew Nieporent’s newest creation. Set in the former Corton space, Bâtard brings together fabulous, eclectic food without any of the pretensions that usually accompany this level of quality. This was our first dinner at Bâtard. It certainly won’t be the last.

An artful blend of the old and the new, Mattei’s Tavern is a throwback to a fascinating time in California’s history when this iconic watering hole catered to weary railroad travelers.

Part wine shop, part Parisian-inspired wine bar, Les Marchands is a very welcome addition to the Santa Barbara scene.

This amazing lunch kicked off an incredible weekend of food and wine at La Paulée. RN 74 is part of Michael Mina's group of restaurants. Don’t be fooled by the casual atmosphere. Food and wine are taken very seriously here. Mina, and his team led Executive Chef Jason Berthold and Wine Director Raj Parr offer guests a fabulous dining experience. Not surprisingly, RN 74 was jam-packed on this Friday afternoon.

Making wine in the Finger Lakes is no walk in the park, and yet year after year, estates across the region turn out compelling Rieslings, Cabernet Francs, Chardonnays and a litany of other wines. But that’s not the full picture. The Finger Lakes has been the American wine scene’s underdog for decades. What will it take to break through?

In my first Loire report for Vinous, I take the pulse of Chenin producers with a focus on current releases from Savennières and Vouvray.

One of the immutable, unwritten laws of wine writing has been that you must describe Chenin Blanc with one or more of the following terms: underappreciated, underrated or underdog. But the reality is that some of the most exciting white wines in the world are Chenin Blancs from Anjou and Touraine, in famed appellations such as Montlouis, Vouvray and Savennières, as well as from a wave of producers in Anjou who’ve shunned the traditional appellations and chosen to bottle their wines as Vin de France.

The Loire wine scene is full of youthful energy. It’s no surprise that the region has also become an epicenter of the organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking that appeals to a younger generation. The first part of my coverage looks at Cabernet Franc with a focus mostly on Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, as well as others from Anjou and Touraine.

Two thousand nineteen was up and down, with a ton of highlights and some challenges, too. In the end, though, tasting wine for a living and running Vinous are two enormous privileges. While I could give readers a long list of super-rare wines I had in 2019, this list is all about Moments. Specific events that were about much more than just wine….

It’s time to take America’s premier cool-climate wine region more seriously. The Finger Lakes has been branded an “up-and-coming” wine region for almost two decades. So, at this point, it’s a reasonable question to ask: Have the wines finally arrived? Well, yes and no.

The Vinous Holiday Gift Guide is packed with gift ideas for the wine lover in your life. You’ll find a tantalizing selection of the latest books, glassware, openers, maps and more in this curated list of the year’s most tempting gifts.

When Cognac is well-made, it’s among the finest spirits known to humanity. But Cognac is a secretive, confounding place. In this report, I unravel the mysteries of Cognac, covering more than 50 brands and offering reviews and ratings on more than 200 bottles.

Looking for that perfect gift for the wine lover in your life? We’ve got you covered with a selection of gifts ranging from new books, to glasses, maps and much more.

Forget about grapes in Normandy. Here, the apple is king. Each fall, dozens of apple varieties, in field blends, are harvested, crushed and pressed into cider. In Calvados, much of that cider is distilled into the exquisite apple brandy. It has taken time, but slowly over the past two decades, a serious generation of Calvados producers have elevated the spirit into a conversation with the world’s other great brandies.

Armagnac is perhaps the most wine-like of spirits, and so it makes sense that, at Vinous, we begin our foray into the high-proof world of liquor by looking deeply into this classic brandy from Gascony. With a history that goes back more than 700 years, Armagnac offers authenticity, character and tradition, all of which are reflected in spirits that are imbued with notable complexity.