José Maria Vicente is a 3rd generation owner and operator of Casa Castillo in the DO of Jumilla. José Maria aims to showcase the potential of his principal variety, Monastrell, to make wines that are both dense and nuanced.

There’s more than one place where Chardonnay grows in the Roussillon. A little further inland, along the Têt river valley, it thrives on deep red clay soils with gravels from the surrounding mountains. Wine from these vineyards never quite fit into their other Chardonnay bottling, so Colline aux Fossiles realized that this wine needed to be bottled on its own.

While the Priorat is known for its opulent wines, the region can also make fresher wine styles that capture its untrammeled side and call back to the type common before the region’s modern rebirth. Some of the most prestigious names and expensive bottlings there now embrace this new style, including Coster dels Olivers.

Blessed with an ideal climate for growing grapes, Faouzi Issa and Domaine des Tourelles have a simple philosophy of sustainable & manual farming, social responsibility, hand harvesting, indigenous fermentation, and minimal SO2. These are not only sustainably-made wines, but wines of tremendous and nourishingly Mediterranean authenticity.

While working on a project in Calatayud, Eric Solomon met Jean-Marc Lafage and Yolanda Diaz. Together they “discovered” a unique place there, an arid plateau between the villages of Acered & Atea, bordering the Sierra de Santa Cruz. The soil is pure schist, the same soil in the Priorat and Maury. This unique terroir and the old vines of Garnacha rooted there are the origins of Evodia.

Famille Lieubeau farms over 40 hectares of granite rock and produces both Muscadet Sèvre et Maine as well as Vin de Pays from grapes such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Lieubeau family takes great care to vinify the wines according to exposition, density of the bedrock, and harvest date. They keep yields as low as possible to produce wines that express the varietal character and terroir.

One of the most highly-regarded areas in Ribera del Duero, the estate of Villacreces sits at the center of the golden mile – a cluster of vineyards and estates considered by many to be the best in Valladolid if not the entire DO. In 2003 the Antón family purchased the estate to revitalize the property. The results are healthy vines that are less dependent on irrigation, revitalized soils, deeper root systems, and plants that are more self-regulating than before.

Tucked away in a remote corner of Catalunya, Nuria Altés’ new project, Herència Altés, is situated outside the village of Batea, in the DO of Terra Alta. Assisted by her partner Rafael de Haan, they inaugurated a new cellar for the 2016 vintage located in her hometown of Batea. Multiple vinifications are made based on vineyard site, variety, and vine age and are done in stainless steel tanks, concrete, or oak vessels of varying sizes.

The Anton Family founded Izadi in 1987 after years of managing vineyards in Villabuena de Alaba and restaurants in Vitoria. Located in Rioja Alavesa, Izadi aims to produce wines that express the character of the varieties indigenous to Rioja: Viura, Malvasía, Garnacha Blanco & Tinto, Tempranillo Blanco & Tinto, Graciano, and Mazuelo.

It seems Jean–François Mérieau’s mind goes faster than his hands. Although he already produces some of the most respected and sought-after wines of the Touraine, he’s not satisfied and constantly looking for new ways to express the rich landscape that is Domaine Jean-François Mérieau. Many of the vines on the property are quite old, including the Pineau d’Aunis, over 100 years old, and the Cot, ranging from 50-100 years.

Beneath the streets of Saumur, miles of caves wind through soft limestone bedrock. One of the last remaining family-owned sparkling wine houses in Saumur, Louis de Grenelle, stores their sparkling wines in these caverns. Made in the Champagne method and bottled with little dosage, the wines preserve the freshness of the Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Grolleau grown in clay limestone vineyards typical of the region.