Wine Spectator Nov. 30th Issue Features

Michael Mina
Michael Mina's food is categorized as modern American cuisine, but he elevates the genre by juxtaposing unexpected but relatively simple elements. He's not afraid to introduce flavors of different cuisines on the same plate.

FREE Wine Charts:
Rhône Valley wines: A free chart offers an alphabetical list of all California Cabernet wines reviewed for the tasting report in this issue.
California Merlot wines: A free chart offers an alphabetical list of all Alsace wines reviewed for the tasting report in this issue.

Cover Story
Good Things Come in Trios - Drawn to the culinary world as a teenager, and happiest when he sees people enjoying his food, chef Michael Mina has built success on creative menus, fine wine and savvy partners
The Man in Mina’s Cellar - Wine director Rajat Parr’s distinctive lists reflect the unique personalities of the Mina Group’s 15 restaurants
Bringing Mina Home - Prepare a restaurant-caliber wine dinner in your kitchen

Features
Tasting Reports
Rhône Valley Alphabetical Listing
The Rhône Rises Again - The 2007 vintage propels the south to greatness, while the north continues its run of success
WineSpectator.com: More than 1000 wines were reviewed for this report. A free alphabetical list is available. WineSpectator.com members can access complete reviews for all the wines tasted using the online Wine Ratings search.
WineSpectator.com: James Molesworth travels to the Rhône regularly and blogs about his vineyard visits and barrel-sample tastings to give you the inside track on the wines before they reach the market. Read about his most recent trip, from his first stops at a half-dozen Châteauneuf-du-Pape estates to his further explorations in the Northern and Southern Rhone.
The ABCs of the Southern Rhône Valley - A guide to the region’s diverse appellations
Merlot’s Mixed Message - Though quality is high overall, middle-range values are scarce among the 2005 and 2006 releases from California
WineSpectator.com: More than 165 wines were reviewed for this report. A free alphabetical list is available. WineSpectator.com members can access complete reviews for all the wines tasted using the online Wine Ratings search.
California Merlot Alphabetical Listing

Wine
Entertaining with the Pros - Nine leading sommeliers answer holiday wine-matching questions

Grapevine
World
Wine Warehouse Arson Trial Begins
Northern Hemisphere Harvest Blogs
California Wildfire Report
Betts & Scholl Wine Brand Sold
WineSpectator.com: Keep up with breaking news as well as the people, places and happenings that wine lovers are talking about.

People
Q&A with chef Neela Paniz
“Paso Rap” Wins 2009 Wine ­Spectator Video Contest
WineSpectator.com: Bonus Video: The rhythmic take on friendly competition among vineyards on the east and west sides of Paso Robles has won Wine Spectator's third annual video contest.
NewsMakers: A Wine Wedding

Savvy Shopper
Savvy Shopper - Distinctive Rieslings and French and Iberian reds

Coffee
Bacchus broadens his range

Travel
Santa Fe in the Winter

Wine Auctions
California Syrah Cools Off at Auction
WineSpectator.com: Keep tabs on the auction market. Website members can check the latest auction highlights and track prices for more than 12,000 collectible wines in our Auction Price Database. Also available is a free calendar of upcoming auctions.

Cellars
Private Cellars - The collection of a lifetime

Departments
This Issue/Marvin R. Shanken
This Issue - Marvin R. Shanken
Columns
James Laube - Kosta Browne’s big payday
WineSpectator.com: In recent blog posts, James Laube discusses when good wines are mispriced, savors a 1961 Bordeaux and reflects on why California Syrah is still a tough sell.
Matt Kramer - A wine-related bucket list
James Suckling - Hong Kong wine auctions

Wine Talk
Wine Talk - Tennis star Amélie Mauresmo

The Buying Guide


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