What’s in a name, well, if you are a Zabar, that’s about as ubiquitous as pizza in NYC. Born and raised in the city, Eli Zabar is part of the legendary family synonymous with food…and now wine. Eli separated from his brothers and family to follow his own vision in the ‘70’s: creating a food and wine empire. He is a tireless innovator and has created some of the most unique food and wine concepts in the country. Eli’s Table just reopened with seasonal fare and one of the largest old world wine collections in New York. So, the question begs to be asked, how does a guy approaching 80 have so much energy? 
 

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Fifth Generation Sonoman, Russel Bevan left town to study Philosophy at Gonzaga University, logically leading him to a job in the dental field in the Midwest. A fortuitous transfer sent him back west where wine things started happening for him. Russell became a prolific wine forum nerd and columnist for Wine Spectator Magazine before settling into his own wine gig in N. California. Russell is the proprietor of Bevan Cellars and a sought-after wine consultant stacking up numerous 100-point wines. He recently started Adversity Cellars with his wife Heidi. 

So, the questions begs to be asked, how the hell did a native Californian with a Masters in Philosophy from a Jesuit University wind up in the Midwest in the dental field, only to return back west and make some of the highest scoring and most prestigious wines? We’ll find out! 

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Bedford Stuyvesant’s own Marvina Robinson left the neighborhood to attend Norfolk St University, an HBCU. Her love of the bubbly started when she would come home between semesters and pop some champagne with her friends to celebrate. Marvina attended Columbia University, receiving her Masters to work in finance in risk management. Her love for Champagne was strong enough to take some risk, pack in her career, travel to France, and start B. Stuyvesant Champagne in Brooklyn as one of the few woman of color Champagne owners. Marvina makes over a half dozen cuvees including a Rose and Cuvee Reserve. 
 

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Ken Pahlow has spent over two decades on the Oregon wine scene. He worked at and with some of the best people in the state including Dom Lafon at Evening Land, Patricia Greene, and St. Innocent. Ken also logged time on the sales and distribution side at Evening Land, Vin de Garde, and Galaxy. With a little coaxing from his wife and now partner Erica, he started Walter Scott Wines in 2008, producing their first vintage in 2009. He now makes his wines at Casteel in the Eola-Amity Hills. Ken Pahlow crafts critically acclaimed, sough-after Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from multiple sites in Oregon.

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Cristina Mariani May is a third-generation winemaker. Her grandparents emigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900’s. Ironically, her father and uncle headed back to Italy in the late ‘70’s to create Castello Banfi in Brunello di Montalcino, now the largest contiguous vineyard in Europe. Cristina joined Banfi in the early ‘90’s and has been the President and CEO since 2018. Cristina is one of the most powerful women in wine and oversees import, distribution, and wineries in Tuscany, Piemonte, and the Pacific northwest. Work-life balance and family first is essential to Cristina’s success.
 

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This week we are going to talk about Bordeaux 2020. The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux was recently in NYC with over 100 wineries pouring their new 2020 vintage. I got a chance to speak with six different wineries from different regions in Bordeaux and the consensus is the 2020 vintage is excellent, the third in a trilogy of great vintages after 2018 and '19. This was a walk around tasting with hundreds of people and wineries in midtown Manhattan. It was a little noisy and frenetic, but the wineries were able to take some time out to tell us about their wines and the vintage. We spoke to Chateau Beychevelle in St Julien

Chateau Coutet, the sweet wine from Barsac 

Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac Leognan 

Chateau Cantenac Brown in Margaux 

Chateau La Gaffeliere in St Emilion 

And Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac. 
 

Photo Courtesy of Sam Benrubi.

The Grape Nation is nominated for a viewer’s choice TASTE AWARD. Cast your vote before February 17th.

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Not your typical winemaker, Bibi Graetz was surrounded by a family of visual artists, studying art and not wine. He grew up in a medieval castle in Tuscany surrounded by vineyards. With no formal training, Bibi started making wine in the late 1990’s, and by 2000 he was making his own wine with a passion for old vines and Sangiovese. Merging his two loves, Bibi has created the labels for his highly sought after and critically acclaimed wines. 
 

The Grape Nation is nominated for a viewer’s choice TASTE AWARD. Cast your vote before February 17th.

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Nathan Kendall, a Finger Lakes native, has been making wine at his eponymous Nathan K winery for over a dozen years. He has traveled the world to fine-tune his craft, including Sonoma, New Zealand, Australia, Oregon, and the Mosel in Germany. He also makes wine at Hickory Hollow and at Chepika with Pascaline Lepeltier. Nathan is part of a new generation of Finger Lakes winemakers bringing passion, innovation, and technical skills to their wines and the region. 
 

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Shana Clarke is a freelance writer based out of New York City, specializing in wine, Sake, and travel. She has WSET Level 3 certification and is a certified Sake Sommelier. Her writing has appeared in Fortune, Wine Enthusiast, Departures, and Saveur to name a few. Shana is also a wine marketing consultant for major wine entities. Shana Clarke just released her new book, “150 Vineyards You Need to Visit Before You Die”. 

 

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Eric Asimov is the long-time wine critic of the New York Times. His wine column, “The Pour”, appears every Wednesday in the Food Section of the Times in-print and online. Eric recently concluded almost 9 years and 100 columns of his “Wine School”. Post-Covid times have allowed Eric to travel around the world, taste wine, and meet the winemakers for the first time in years. He has published numerous books and shares the torture of the NY Jets with me. 
 

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