The French Laundry (Wikimedia).

On Christmas Day, someone broke into the French Laundry’s wine cellar, stealing $300,000 worth of wine. Most of the bottles were Screaming Eagle and DRC.

“I am beginning to appreciate the wisdom of serving sparkling wine in a regular white-wine stem. Is it festive enough? Well, I’m not going to complain if someone hands me a flute filled with Bollinger R.D. But I would be even happier with the same wine in a glass I already have, and that displays more of the greatness.” Harvey Steiman weighs in on the flute vs. glass debate.

Sparkling wine imports are way up this year.

Ray Isle names his “7 Top Sparkling Wines of 2014.”

Mike Veseth, the wine economist, looks back on 2014 and ahead to the New Year.

In Forbes, Adam Morganstern details “The 9 Best Wines and Spirits to Start Drinking in 2015.”

In the Wall Street Journal, Jen Murphy spends some time with chef, restaurateur, and winery owner Michael Chiarello.

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray looks back at 2014’s biggest news stories on the West Coast.