[BND] What We're Reading

Wine experts share their favorite Champagnes and sparkling wines to pair with French fries

French fries and Champagne are the high-brow, low-brow pairings you never knew you needed in your life — like potato chips and caviar. Salt and fat from potatoes. Acidity of Champagne. The acid cuts through the fat and salt; the fat and salt balances the acidity. Voila! (Des Moines Register)

Why Winemakers Are Abandoning Geographical Indications

A growing number of winemakers around the world have strayed from the constraints of GIs in favor of more freedom and creativity in the production process. (Wine Enthusiast)

After Burning Down in a Wildfire, This Napa Winery Was Rebuilt to Withstand Natural Disasters

Inside the reborn Signorello Estate. (Robb Report)

The Overlooked States Redefining East Coast Wine

In states where serious winemaking was once unheard of, like Vermont, Maine, New Jersey, and North Carolina, the scene is heating up. (SevenFiftyDaily)

‘It ends with us’: Why this successful California winery would rather shut down than sell

A revered winery that helped popularize old-vine California Zinfandel is shutting down. (San Francisco Chronicle)

An Undercover Operation, a Raid and the Fight Over What Makes a True Tequila

An American couple started a growing business focused on ‘additive-free’ tequila. Mexican authorities weren’t happy. (Wall Street Journal)