In the Oct. 15, 2008 Issue

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European Values

Cover Story

Europe's Best Values - 200+ flavorful reds, whites & rosés that offer high quality at affordable prices

Europe's Best Values: European Values Guide

Features

Tasting Reports

Australia Turns Toward Elegance - Aided by a series of balanced vintages, winemakers are aiming for more refined reds

Cellar Notes

Gigondas - Châteauneuf's "little cousin" shows its style

People

Havana's Best Sommelier - Zudlay Nápoles pursues her wine passion in an unlikely place?

Wine

Aging Australia's Reds - The best Shirazes and Cabernets prove their mettle with time

Aging Australia's Reds: A Decade in the Bottle - A blind tasting suggests how well the top Australian reds can age

Australian Reds Retrospective

Grapevine

Chocolate

Tastes: Chocolate: The New Americans

Departments

This Issue/Marvin R. Shanken

This Issue: A Closer Look at Australia

Letters

Upfront

U.S. Freezes Montepulciano and St.-Emilion Imports - Some wines—including new vintages—are held due to legal wranglings

Link Between Wine and Breast Cancer Unclear

Sonoma's Pax Wine Cellars Embroiled in Lawsuits

Proposed Web-Ad Rules Anger French Winemakers

GrapeVine

Dining Out

Dining Out: San Francisco: Murray Circle, Fifth Floor - Michelin two-star chefs introduce new ventures

Tastes

Tastes: IN THE KITCHEN with Sam Gugino: Spirited Cooking

Tastes: Australia Hot Spots: Wine-Savvy Sydney

Savvy Shopper

The Savvy Shopper - Australia and Tuscany, Plus German Riesling

Columns

Where I Stand

Why Wine Isn't Art—and Why That Matters

A Century of German Riesling

To Taste or Not to Taste?

Collecting

Auction Index Off Slightly in First Half of '08 - Overseas buyers help float prices as index outperforms the Dow

St. Henri—Penfolds' "Other" Shiraz - Storied Aussie red ages superbly and costs a fraction of a Grange

Penfolds St. Henri Vertical

Wine Talk

Wine Talk: Dennis Haysbert

The Buying Guide

The Buying Guide for this issue is available here.

CELEBRATE OUR 200,000TH WINE RATING: WineSpectator.com will soon reach a milestone: 200,000 wine ratings in our online database! Celebrate this achievement with free access to our site from Sept. 23 until Oct. 1. Check out our entire ratings database, editors' blogs and more at no cost.

VIDEO CONTEST FINALISTS: The submission period for Wine Spectator's second annual video contest has ended, and our editors have selected the best entries. Now it's time for you to choose your favorite. Vote on our Web site from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14. The first-place winner will receive a pair of tickets to the Wine Experience, and the top video will be revealed on WineSpectator.com on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

VIDEOS: We now have hundreds of free videos on our Web site. Check out some of the latest:

Pinot heaven: Sonoma County's Russian River Valley is ideal for Pinot Noir. Join senior editor James Laube as he discusses this varietal with Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, makers of the luscious Kosta Browne wines.
Wine-and-cheese pairing: What are the key rules for pairing wine and cheese? Editor at large Harvey Steiman focuses on some of his favorite cheese matches with Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauternes (coming soon) in two new videos.
Refreshing rosés: A crisp, dry rosé is the perfect drink for a warm fall day. Managing editor Kim Marcus tastes and talks about three of his favorites: two values and one new luxury cuvée.

FALL ENTERTAINING: We present some wines and recipes to help ease your transition from the warm summer weather into crisper fall temperatures.

HARVEST REPORTS: Learn about the quality of the 2008 crop straight from the winemakers as the grapes come in.

CALIFORNIA TASTING HIGHLIGHTS: Senior editor James Laube and our other California editors are now posting weekly highlights from their latest tastings. Check the Web site often for scores and notes on hot new Cabernets, Pinot Noirs, Syrahs and more.

THE AUCTION ADVANTAGE: Fall is a busy season for wine auctions. Find out what your wines are worth using our Auction Price Database, which tracks the performance of more than 12,000 collectible wines. Plus, read analysis of the latest auction results.