Bourbon barrel. (Flickr: Don Sniegowski)

In the Drop, Jess Siegel looks into the rise of bourbon-barrel wine and explores why it’s so popular. “Aging wine in something other than the traditional oak barrels is not new…What’s different is that bourbon-barrel wine is part of a larger and more widespread trend, called a crossover product, that includes beer and spirits. For instance, Scotch whisky producers have long used old wine barrels to age their spirits, and craft brewers have turned wine- and spirit-barreled beer into a regular part of their offerings.”

“The results of a radiocarbon dating (Carbon-14) study of Tawny Ports have prompted Dutch retailers, wholesalers, and importers to recall several from sale, over fears that the age stated on bottle labels could mislead consumers,” reports Wine-Searcher.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Esther Mobley remembers Nicholas Molnar, the vintner who helped pioneer fine wine in the now-famous Napa County region of Carenros. He died on January 11 at the age of 94.

Want to drink wine in bed or with ice? That’s okay, says Dave McIntyre, who says not to worry too much about etiquette in the Washington Post.

Jancis Robinson compares red Burgundy and Pinot Noir from other parts of the world. “I would say that the richness of the 2020 vintage in Burgundy, preceded as it was by two other warm to hot growing seasons in 2019 and 2018, offers an opportunity for the best Pinot Noir producers outside France to champion the finesse of their wines.”

In VinePair, Julia Larson explores the new non-alcoholic bottle shops shaking up what we know about beverage retail.

Amelia Edelman offers a guide to traveling through Northern California’s wine country in Travel + Leisure.