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In the Dec. 31, 2007 Issue:




Previous issue: Dec. 15, 2007

 

Cover Story

The 2007 Top 100 Thirteen countries and five continents are represented in our annual roundup of the year’s most exciting new releases

Wine of the Year   Clos des Papes has long been one of the Southern Rhône’s most prominent estates, and the 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is its most compelling bottling to date

Top 100 at a Glance

Profiles of Wines Nos. 2 to 100

Top 100 by Region and Variety

Wines of the Year 1988 to 2006

10 Years of Top 10s

Great Values of 2007

Highest-Scoring Releases of 2007

Features

Tasting Reports

Champagne Rides High Prices have gone up and supply is limited, but this holiday favorite is more popular than ever

U.S. Sparklers Step Up   With reasonable prices and rising quality, domestic bubblies have become a good alternative to Champagne

Oregon’s Balancing Act   Led by Pinot Noir, the state's best wines are characterized by delicacy and refinement

Wine

Manhattan by the Glass   Wine bars in the Big Apple offer a fun and practical way to sample wines of all kinds

  • WineSpectator.com:  Get information on nearly 4,000 restaurants with award-winning wine lists. Our complete 2007 Dining Guide listings are online in our redesigned Restaurant Search database—now with photos and more information.

Events

The New York Wine Experience   A weekend of exclusive tastings, dining and camaraderie brings together wine producers and wine lovers from around the world

A Blind Tasting With the Editors

Tasting the Top 10 of 2006

Four Top Chefs Mix It Up

California Chardonnay for Skeptics

M. Chapoutier Translates Terroir

Wines of Matt Kramer's Heart

Italy's Monumental 1997 Vintage

Books

Winter Reading List   Curl up with a glass of your favorite and one of these must-reads for wine lovers

Dining

Southern Comfort   From South Carolina to Georgia, luxurious resorts offer genteel hospitality and stellar wining and dining

Departments

This Issue Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront

  

Champagne and sparkling-wine consumption is on the rise; California wildfires destroy a small winery; Bill Koch files another counterfeit-wine lawsuit; Wine & Health: Moderate alcohol consumption may improve memory; Wine deals now searchable on WineSpectator.com; GrapeVine

  • WineSpectator.com  Keep up with breaking news as well as the people, places and happenings that wine lovers are talking about.

Tastes

  

Toasting food with Champagne; Lobster in a can; Finding that perfect coffee blend; Does shape matter?; You've tried the wine ...

  • WineSpectator.com:  Find more dishes—from appetizers to desserts—that pair well with sparkling wines using our Recipe Search.

Dining Out

Dining Out   San Francisco

  • WineSpectator.com:  For information on other great wine-and-food destinations around the world, visit our Dining & Travel section and use the Hotel, Winery and Restaurant Search tools.

Columns

James Laube   Year in review

Matt Kramer   Wine reverie

Kim Marcus   Label power

Collecting

  

Soft Vintage Port sales spell good fortune for auctiongoers; Fifth annual Support Our Canine Heroes Wine Gala Vintage Port Retros; Sonoma Paradiso wins big for the local community

  • WineSpectator.com:  Read full tasting notes for the 1977 and 1997 Vintage Ports in this report, plus past retrospective tastings of other wines.

Wine Talk

Wine Talk   Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes

The Buying Guide

View a list of all tasting notes from this issue. Or for more than 195,000 tasting notes, use WineSpectator.com's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.


NEW! SPECTATOR TRADING POST:  Not sure what to give this holiday season? Get special wine offers, including great values and hard-to-find collectibles, from a select group of premier retailers through our Web site. Retailers' offers change frequently, so check in often for the best deals.

2006 RHÔNE CELLAR NOTES:  Senior editor James Molesworth recently visited the Northern Rhône to bring you the scoop on upcoming wines from the region. Read his analysis of the 2006 vintage and his blogs on visits to the top domaines and rising stars.

HOLIDAY TRAVEL:  Going somewhere fun over the winter break? No matter where you're headed, we've got recommendations for you:

  • Our Hotel Search contains reviews and photos of great places to stay in wine-and-food destinations.
  • Our recently revamped Winery Search helps you plan tasting visits, with interactive maps and information on hours of operation and tasting fees.


HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING:  Whether you're hosting friends or family, we'll help you pull off a great party with crowd-pleasing recipes and wine suggestions that won't bust your budget, including festive sparkling wines.

VIDEOS:  We now have more than 175 videos, including ones on:

  • Champagne and food:  Senior editor Bruce Sanderson shares a perfect pairing with Krug, one of his favorite Champagnes.
  • Top 10 of 2007: Hear from the senior editors about what makes each of these wines so special.
  • Wine Experience: Relive this year's event with editors’ video blogs and our seminar highlights, from the Grand Tastings to the Top 10 tasting.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE  We're putting your wine knowledge to the test with our fun, new biweekly wine quiz. See how you do against other readers.

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