California
Latest California
Wine news in 5
Trinchero purchases Mumm Napa, Chablis updates AOC, Canada sells off US booze
Plus Mendoza’s recent embrace of copper mining and the end of the Sud de France moniker on wine labels. Above, a view of Chablis. Before I get to global news...
Samantha Cole-Johnson
Friday 19 December 2025
• 3 min read
Free for all
California's coolest county
Santa Barbara County has a great deal to offer. A slightly shorter version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Above, Sta Rita Hills from the terrace of...
Jancis Robinson
Saturday 15 November 2025
• 1 min read
Tasting articles
The wines of Santa Barbara County
Jancis Robinson
Friday 14 November 2025
• 19 min read
More California
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Eighteen square miles of vineyards, apples and other agriculture in the Russian River Valley appellation are under quarantine, bringing to...
Tasting articles
Pinot Noir is of course flavour of the year in the US. So much so that we don't see too...
Free for all
California axes tax – for now California wine producers, sellers and buyers dodged a so-called ‘nickel-a-drink’ tax when the state...
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Pressure on water grows It was a gloriously sunny, 72 ºF in Sonoma today, so warm that I wore shorts...
Don't quote me
Some Californian wine lovers are up in arms about a proposed increase in duty on wine in the state. Governor...
Tasting articles
Our West Coast editor Linda Murphy (currently judging this year's Wines of Chile Awards in Santiago) draws our attention to...
Don't quote me
It’s amazing what lengths one particular wine producer has apparently gone to in order to be able once more to...
Inside information
Bill Foley is rapidly becoming a big cheese in West Coast winemaking, evidenced by his latest winery purchase, Sebastiani Vineyards...
Inside information
On 16 Dec, I made a familiar drive east on Highway 128 through Sonoma county’s Alexander Valley, en route to...
Inside information
The 2008 California growing season had it all: frost, wind, drought, heat and smoke from massive wildfires. With more adversity...
Tasting articles
Evening Land Vineyards is an exciting and extremely ambitious new project that spans some first class Pinot Noir sites in...
Inside information
At least two California producers are doing their bit in sometimes innovative ways for the environment. Fetzer bottles go on...
Wines of the week
From $4.99 and £7. Find this wine Have I gone mad? Choosing a California Chardonnay made by the world’s biggest...
Inside information
The best known running joke in California wine country is of course: How do you make a small fortune in...
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This is a longer version of an article also published in the Financial Times. One of the most difficult questions...
Tasting articles
You may remember how I marvelled at Screaming Eagle’s vineyard manager Annie Favia in How to make a wine’s reputation...
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