For generations, boxed and bagged wine has been associated with inexpensive, mass-market bottles. Now, producers are trying to change that reputation by putting carefully made, distinctive wines into flexible pouches with built-in taps. Chicago beverage consultant Dylan Melvin, co-founder of My Dear Friends, sells small-production wines from family-owned growers in…

American wineries are increasingly releasing sparkling wines aged for years on their lees—the yeast cells left behind after fermentation. This extended aging can give the wines greater complexity and a creamy texture, with flavors such as brioche, shortbread, and toasted nuts. Some bottles spend five to seven years aging this…

Wine corks can pile up in a drawer, but they’re also handy materials for simple crafts and household fixes. Here are six ways to put them to use: Place-card holders Cut a shallow slit lengthwise into a cork and slide in a place card. For a more polished look, add…

As wine becomes less profitable, a former Napa farmer is finding a new use for wine grapes: turning them into raisins. The raisins are sold under the label The Wine RayZyn Co. Wine grapes aren’t typically used to make raisins, so The Sacramento Bee’s food team sampled the product in…

Nearly five years after the San Francisco Chronicle added a second wine reporter, the team is welcoming another: Lucy Hodgman. Her predecessor, Esther Mobley, left in March to return to Boston, where she is now food editor at the Boston Globe. Hodgman has already begun covering the region’s wine industry….

When I turned 30, I wanted to mark the occasion with a memorable trip. I’d recently become interested in champagne, and Napa Valley seemed like the obvious choice. Its vineyards, tastings, food, and sunny scenery made for a wonderful getaway. My husband and I rented a small house surrounded by…

Wine prices can reflect more than taste. Land costs, labor, scarcity, a region’s reputation, and a producer’s prestige all help determine what a bottle costs. That means an expensive wine isn’t automatically better—and a bottle under $20 can still be delicious and memorable. Wine experts suggest a few ways to…