Skip to content
Laird Norton Wealth Management
  • Services
          • Wealth Planning
            • Business Owner
            • Equity Compensation
            • Estate Strategies
            • Philanthropic Giving
            • Tax Strategies
          • Investment Management
            • Tax-Aware Investing
            • Risk Management
            • Alternatives & Private Market
            • Impact Investing
          • Trust Services
            • Beneficiary Services
            • Family Legacy
            • Trust Administration
            • Trust Benefits
            • Understanding Trusts
          • NonProfit Clients
            • Request RFP Participation
  • About
          • About LNWM
            • Fiduciary Financial Advisor
            • How We Help
            • Our Team
            • Corporate Social Responsibility
            • Careers
            • Community
            • Board of Directors
            • FAQs
        • two people in a kayak on water
  • Insights
        • Blog

          Top-of-mind at LNWM and elsewhere.

          Papers

          Expert insights and analysis.

          Videos

          See what we're up to.

          Media

          Our published work and media coverage.

  • Contact
Search Icon
Client Login
mobile-login

Home » Insights » In the Community » Wines with Character: Q&A with Lettie Teague

Wines with Character: Q&A with Lettie Teague

Soula Stefanopoulos | In the Community | April 24, 2015 (February 25, 2020)

Lettie Teague, wine columnist at The Wall Street Journal, has a new book out that is a joy to read for many reasons. It’s unpretentious, as if Lettie has popped over after work to give you a few wine tips. Yet it’s also full of insights bound to make wine shopping and drinking way more interesting. We caught up with Lettie in her office not far from Wall Street, just before the press party for Wine in Words.

Lettie, one takeaway from Wine in Words is that people tend to overpay for high-profile wines just as they overpay for hot stocks. What are some lesser-known but high-quality wines we should look out for?

Lettie: There is a big shift now toward wines made from lesser-known, indigenous grape varieties. Wine drinkers are seeking what is unique to a region, not necessarily wine made from a grape like Cabernet Sauvignon that’s grown all over the world. I guess you could say it’s a move away from globalization.

What’s driving this is that there are some great, relatively obscure wines out there from local varietals that haven’t been planted elsewhere. For example, in the Mt. Etna region of Sicily, the chief local grapes are the Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio, grown at high elevation on the sides of an active volcano.

Wow. I guess you do really need to try these before they get too hot!

Lettie: Ha! Seriously, a top Mt. Etna red can be reminiscent of a Barolo or a northern Rhone red and yet Etna reds are much more reasonably priced. A good example is the 2004 Calabretta that’s on the market right now. It’s 11 years old and costs around $30. This is a wine that’s released late – when the producer deems it ready to drink – much like a Rioja. Another Mt. Etna producer I like very much is Tenuta delle Terre Nere.

In Wine in Words, you mention Chablis is “a wine that collectors covet but one that mere mortals can actually collect.” What should people look for?

Lettie: First of all, buy the real Chablis, made from chardonnay grapes grown in Chablis, a sub-region of Burgundy — not the ersatz ‘California Chablis’! The soil of Chablis is limestone, full of fossils and minerals and even oyster shells dating back to when Chablis was underwater. The real Chablis has a truly distinctive flavor: it’s flinty, minerally and very dry. A few of my favorite producers are Dauvissat, Raveneau, Christian Moreau and William Fevre. With the exception of Raveneau, who has a cult-like following, these wines are fairly easy to find and a good value.

What do you consider to be “emerging markets” for wine?

Lettie: I think Australia is a re-emerging wine market, as it comes out of a major crisis — or actually a series of crises, fiscal and meteorological (drought, fire, etc.). Among the wines worth noting are the Aussie Rieslings produced in places like Clare Valley north of Adelaide. This Riesling is bone dry, minerally and savory. Also of interest are the more restrained Shiraz wines from Clare Valley as well as the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne. These valleys cool down considerably at night, creating great conditions for Riesling and refined Shiraz.

There are also some Greek white wines that are exceptional values. I’m researching – aka drinking – a lot of Greek whites for my column next week.

What do you find world-class in Washington State?

Lettie: I think Merlot from Washington tops any other “new world” Merlot. Washington growers always tell me how great their Cabernet Sauvignon is. But while many, many other places grow great Cab not as many have great Merlot. Andrew Will used to make world-class Merlot in Washington, but he has now incorporated it into Merlot-Cabernet blends. Pepper Bridge Winery and Abeja winery, both in Walla Walla, make Merlots worth seeking out.

In whites, Washington is justifiably well-known for its Rieslings, by producers like Chateau Ste. Michelle. Again, I wish producers out there would focus also on Chenin Blanc, which I think could do very well in Washington’s cooler climate vineyards.

What type of wines do you yourself gravitate to?

Lettie: One place I continue to be drawn to is the Loire valley in France. There are some truly great wines made in the Loire, notably the Chenin Blancs from Vouvray by producers Domaine Huet or Jacky Blot. Collectors don’t chase after Loire valley Chenin Blancs like they do the Burgundies, and that’s just fine with me.

I assume you’re serving a Loire wine tonight at the press party?

Lettie: No, actually, but we will be serving Chablis. That should pair well with the predicted 50-mile-an-hour wind, rain – and hail!

  • Share:

Soula Stefanopoulos

Soula, LNWM’s Senior Content Manager, loves to ask questions. Among other things, she was an editor at the OECD in Paris and managing editor of Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street.

Sign Up For Navigator

Get our quarterly insights on investments, wealth planning, taxes and trusts.

Site Logo in footer footer logo
facebook Twitter Opens a news tab Linkedin Opens a news tab Youtube Opens a news tab

About

  • Board of Directors
  • Careers
  • Community
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Our Team
  • Sign up for Navigator

Services

  • Investment Management
  • Sustainable Investing
  • Tax Strategies
  • Trust Services
  • Understanding Trusts
  • Wealth Planning

Address

  • Laird Norton Wealth Management 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1600
    Seattle, WA 98104
    United States
  • 206.464.5100
  • 800.426.5105
© 2023 Laird Norton Wealth Management. All rights reserved.
Form CRSOpen PDF in a new tab Legal Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to customize your settings.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
bcookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID.
bscookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie to store performed actions on the website.
langsessionLinkedIn sets this cookie to remember a user's language setting.
lidc1 dayLinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
UserMatchHistory1 monthLinkedIn sets this cookie for LinkedIn Ads ID syncing.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_uetsid1 dayBing Ads sets this cookie to engage with a user that has previously visited the website.
_uetvid1 year 24 daysBing Ads sets this cookie to engage with a user that has previously visited the website.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gcl_au3 monthsProvided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
_hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.
_hjTLDTestsessionTo determine the most generic cookie path that has to be used instead of the page hostname, Hotjar sets the _hjTLDTest cookie to store different URL substring alternatives until it fails.
_omappvp11 yearsThe _omappvp cookie is set to distinguish new and returning users and is used in conjunction with _omappvs cookie.
_omappvs20 minutesThe _omappvs cookie, used in conjunction with the _omappvp cookies, is used to determine if the visitor has visited the website before, or if it is a new visitor.
calltrk_session_id1 yearThis cookie is set by the Provider CallRail. This cookie is used for storing an unique identifier for a user browser session. It is used for tracking the number of phone calls generate from the website.
vuid2 yearsVimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
_mkto_trk2 yearsThis cookie, provided by Marketo, has information (such as a unique user ID) that is used to track the user's site usage. The cookies set by Marketo are readable only by Marketo.
fr3 monthsFacebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
MUID1 year 24 daysBing sets this cookie to recognize unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. This cookie is used for advertising, site analytics, and other operations.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
_ce.gtldsessionNo description
_dc_gtm_UA-41670453-11 minuteNo description
_hjSession_275188330 minutesNo description
_hjSessionUser_27518831 yearNo description
AnalyticsSyncHistory1 monthNo description
BIGipServerab10web-nginx-app_httpssessionNo description
BIGipServerab47web-nginx-app_httpssessionNo description
calltrk_landing1 yearThis is a functionality cookie set by the CallRail. This cookie is used to store the landing page URL. It helps to accurately attribute the visitor source when displaying a tracking phone number.
calltrk_nearest_tld9 years 10 months 8 daysNo description
calltrk_referrer1 yearThis is a functionality cookie set by the CallRail. This cookie is used to store the referring URL. It helps to accurately attribute the visitor source when displaying a tracking phone number.
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearNo description
li_gc2 yearsNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo