If there’s one thing that can really draw me to a wine, it’s discovering a unique story behind the bottle. Not every wine is a labor of love, but for those that are, their points of distinction vary drastically from house to house: Vineyard managers growing international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon versus native varieties like Portugal’s Touriga Nacional; winemakers who might choose to ferment wines using natural yeast; wines aged in amphorae rather than the more ubiquitous barrels and stainless steel; even technical matters like pressing grapes gently as whole clusters, or hand-picking them from the vines at night. All of these differences—whether grand gestures or subtle attention to detail—come through in the complexity of the final wine, each bottle a love letter from the winemaker to a place, a grape, or a year. Continue reading →