2023
The Best of Year Issue
In this issue, we round up the very best of what we tasted this year across wine, spirits and beer. We also dive deep into bubbles with the ultimate snack and Champagne pairing guide, a brief history of Marie Antoinette’s favorite treat (not cake), and the sparkling style that might save New York.
Discover Great New Wines
The Best Wines of 2023
This year’s 100 are not simply the highest scoring bottles, nor are they the most expensive—these are wines that opened our reviewers’ eyes and stimulated their imaginations.
Featured Stories
Letter from the Publisher
Every Reason to Cheer
Is it the people we invite that make that moment memorable, or the wine?
This year demanded a little extra sparkle.
The two fastest growing alcohol beverage categories in the U.S. this year were sparkling wine and tequila. If that doesn’t read like a drink menu for a good time (and maybe a headache the next day), you may want to reconsider the company you keep. Consumer trends tell us a lot about the current mindset and state of our culture.
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In the months and now years that have followed the pandemic’s peak, a dizzying collection of trends has emerged. People are going out to dinner earlier and staying out later at night. The $25-plus martini is not uncommon; caviar became the new “it” ingredient, but so did cottage cheese. Barbie was the must-see premiere but not until after you watched an angsty three-hour Christopher Nolan epic about the inventor of the atomic bomb. TikTokers frivolously frothed their tequila alongside the spritzification of all things—even Miller High Life got spritzed. It’s as if we all had something to prove in the wake of existential dread—that life can and must be enjoyed. No judgments, no rules—just the constant drive to continue to bring delight into our daily lives.
No doubt, the last year has been a wild ride. And maybe our behavior has mirrored those ups and downs. As Napoleon Bonaparte famously said: “In victory, you deserve Champagne; in defeat, you need it.” That sentiment perfectly distills one of the many likely reasons for sparkling wine’s popularity in today’s climate: We have every reason to cheers with bubbles.
Maybe we’ve learned that life is too short to drink bad wine… or bad tequila. Let’s continue to explore the things that bring us pleasure and bring our communities together. So, cheers to 2023! Sign me up to pop bottles and shake up margaritas at my New Year’s Eve party. I wish you all a happy and healthy one with a little extra salt on the rim for good measure.
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