Jacquez, a hybrid grape. (Wikimedia)

In the New York Times, Norimitsu Onishi reports on how hardy American hybrids—which French authorities tried to outlaw for 87 years—are now giving renegade winemakers a lift as climate change and the natural wine movement change the country’s winemaking landscape. “With the growing threat of climate change and the backlash against the use of pesticides, Mr. Garnier is hoping that the forbidden grapes will be legalized and that France’s wine industry will open up to a new generation of hybrids — as Germany, Switzerland and other European nations already have.”

It’s a mainstay of Italy’s wine industry, but can Sangiovese really thrive beyond its native vineyards? In Wine-Searcher, Vicki Denig reports on how Sangiovese is struggling to gain a foothold in vineyards outside Italy.

In Wine Enthusiast, Matt Kettmann reports on California’s newest AVA—the Palos Verdes Peninsula American Viticultural Area, which was approved in June—where coastal wines are bring produced in Los Angeles County.

With a new owner and winemaker, Bella Oaks, one of Napa’s first single-vineyard Cabernet bottlings is making a comeback, reports James Molesworth in Wine Spectator. (subscription req.)

On Jeb Dunnuck’s site, R.H. Drexel explores Paso Robles, “the ideal Wine Country getaway.”

Alder Yarror offers his thoughts on the recent and upcoming releases from Corison Winery.

In the World of Fine Wine, Stuart Walton casts an historical eye over wine’s use as an aphrodisiac, from the Greek symposium to the findings of modern neuroscience.