Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/780573
DEPARTMENTS 4 Letter from the Publisher 10 Editor's Notebook 12 Notebook: Wine Scholar Guild 2017 Trips 14 Discoveries: Arrow & Branch Wines 16 One Woman's View: Baby Somm 18 Planet Grape: No More Geek Speak 20 Bottom Line: 2017 Resolutions 22 Somm's List 24 Good Somm/Bad Somm 26 Scents & Accountability 28 The View from Blue: Sauvignon Blanc 30 Getting Geeky 32 At the Vineyard: Clonal Massale at Ponzi 34 Santa Barbara: Kimsey in Ballard Canyon 36 Steven Spurrier's Letter from London 38 Cellar View: Sea Smoke 40 Wine Lists: Ristorante Peppone, Los Angeles 42 Carte Blanche: Seabold Cellars 44 Wheying In: Milk Sugar: Myth vs. Fact 46 The Blind Side 48 Big Things: Premiere Napa Valley Preview 52 Events: World of Pinot Noir 66 Q&A: Mia Van de Water, North End Grill, NYC 68 China: The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 104 Current Events: On the Road in 2017 106 Meet the Wine Director: Michael Ploetz, Finn Town, San Francisco 114 Closing Time: Aaron Wood-Snyderman, The Metropolitan Grill, Seattle COVER STORY 60 TOURING HISTORIC TOKAJ A Glimpse of the Future in Hungary with Szent Tamás Winery and Mad Wine FIRST PRESS 5 GOING UP, UP, UP with Santa Lucia Highlands and Smith Family Wines FEATURES 71 TRAILBLAZERS IN TRANSILVANIA Romania's Jidvei Aims for Quality Wine and a Thriving Community 76 L'EVOLUZIONE DELL'ISTRUZIONE Banfi's 2017 Cru Artisan College Sharpens Its Focus on Italy 92 SOMMCON 2016 RECAP Digging In to Unique Terroir • A Side of Bourgogne To Be Discovered • Banfi's "Extraordinary Tuscan Experience" • Penfolds Shiraz • South African Chenin Blanc 109 SHINING LIGHT ON MONTEREY COUNTY WINES With Distinct Climatic Influences, Over 40 Varieties Call Monterey AVAs Home 8 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 VOL. 4 NO. 1 THE SOMM JOURNAL