Cover Story

Restaurant Awards 2006  This annual guide to the most wine-friendly restaurants in the world is our most comprehensive ever, featuring 3,772 award winners

• Wine Spectator Online  The 2006 Dining Guide features more than 3,700 wine-friendly restaurants around the world, and all are listed in Wine Spectator Online's free Restaurant Search database.
 
• Sommeliers: The Next Generation  Young sommeliers are shaping some of America's best wine lists with passion and skill  By Mitch Frank
• How to Get the Most From Sommeliers  By Tim Fish
• Tipping Strategies for Wine
• Wine Spectator Online  FREE BONUS VIDEO: Visit with the sommeliers at two of New York's award-winning restaurants: Veritas and Annisa. Select player to watch video: Windows Media | Quicktime
• 2006 Restaurant Awards Analysis  By James Molesworth
• New Orleans Restaurants  By Mitch Frank
• Wine Spectator Online  The 2006 Dining Guide features more than 3,700 wine-friendly restaurants around the world, and all are listed in Wine Spectator Online's free Restaurant Search database.
• Grand Award Winners  Three restaurants join an elite group of wine list honorees around the world
• Blackberry Farm  By James Molesworth
• Restaurant Latour  By James Molesworth
• Sona  By Harvey Steiman
• Wine Spectator Online  Inside the Restaurant Awards: Lessons learned from a visit to a potential Grand Award winner in Norway  By Per-Henrik Mansson
• Honor Roll of Grand Award Winners
• Listing of New Winners and Upgrades
• Dining Guide
• Wine Spectator Online  Is your wine list worthy? We invite you to enter our program and join the ranks of the world's most wine-friendly restaurants.

Features

Tasting Reports

Languedoc & Roussillon  Syrah shines as the 2003 and 2004 vintages provide plenty of rich reds from southern France  By Kim Marcus

• Travel to Cathar Country  Fine wine and top restaurants beckon visitors to the Languedoc
• Wine Spectator Online: FREE BONUS VIDEO: In our latest video tasting, managing editor Kim Marcus compares three wines—a white, a red and a rosé—from leading Languedoc districts to explore the distinctive flavors of this value-laden region. Select player to watch video: Windows Media | Quicktime

Sauvignon Blanc  New styles and fruit-forward flavors dominate in the latest releases from California  By MaryAnn Bovio

Events

Auction Napa Valley  Celebrities and a record-setting lot up the ante at the annual charity event  By Daniel Sogg

• Wine Spectator Parties  Industry insiders begin auction week with the magazine's Bring Your Own Magnum parties

Departments

This Issue  By Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront  A boom in American wine; Taittinger is sold to family heirs and French bank; 2006 Southern Hemisphere harvest snapshots

• Wine Spectator Online  Keep up with breaking news about the wine world every day.

In-Depth  2005 California Cabernet Barrels  By James Laube

Tastes  Artisanal vinegars  By Sam Gugino

• Wine Spectator Online  To learn more about different types of vinegars, visit our online Encyclopedia of Food.

James Laube  Something's amiss among California's elite

• Wine Spectator Online  James Laube's new blog provides tasting insights, commentary and news from California.

Matt Kramer  The age of wine blogs

James Suckling  A believer is born

• Wine Spectator Online  See James Suckling's complete California cult Cabernet Sauvignon tasting notes.

Collecting  Restaurants offer wine lockers; Collecting Q&A; wine auction for the American Heart Association

• Wine Spectator Online  Subscribers to Wine Spectator Online can search the complete Auction Index for prices on collectibles, read analysis of the latest auction results and view a calendar of upcoming sales in the Collecting section.

Wine Talk  Cinematographer Michael Seresin  By Eric Arnold

The Buying Guide

For complete reviews of more than 155,000 wines, use Wine Spectator Online's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.

WINE COUNTRY TRAVEL  It's summertime—time to hit the road and head for the vineyards. Our new travel section provides a complete guide to many of the United States' most popular wine destinations, including California, Oregon, New York, Texas, Washington and Virginia. Find recommendations on where to eat, where to stay and which wineries and attractions to visit. RECIPE SEARCH  Planning the menu for your next dinner party or just looking to cook something new? Check out our Recipe Search, where you can sort through our extensive database to find complete menus or individual recipes by ingredient, food type, matching wine type or any combination thereof. There's even wine-pairing advice. HARVEST REPORT  Find out what to expect from the wines of Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in our 2006 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Report. ARCHIVES  Printable versions of articles from past issues can be found in our Magazine Archives.

BONUS VIDEOS  Wine Spectator Online's bonus videos add extra dimension to articles in the magazine's latest issue. This month, we interview some of New York's top sommeliers and host a tasting that highlights the wines of southern France. You can also download individual videos or subscribe to our weekly Podcast on iTunes. AWARD-WINNING WINE LISTS  The 2006 Dining Guide features more than 3,700 wine-friendly restaurants around the world, and they are all listed in Wine Spectator Online's Restaurant Search database. Find a new local favorite or explore restaurants in your next destination city. FORUMS  Got an opinion or a question about wine? Our readers are a great resource for information. Join the conversation, which ranges from tasting notes to cooking tips, on our site.