This past weekend, with views of Manhattan made moody by spring rains, over 500 wine lovers ascended the 60 stories to Manhatta for the fourth annual New York Fine Wine Encounter.
This year’s Encounter featured sell-out masterclasses from Biondi-Santi, a special retrospective on aged Veuve Clicquot, and Rioja’s top wines.
Starting the morning with Champagne, winemaker and director of R&D at Veuve Clicquot, Gaëlle Goossens, and Decanter’s Natalie Earl led the tasting of seven different vintages. Attendees were offered real treats, including Veuve Grande Dame bottlings from 1996, 1993 and 1990, to demonstrate the ageability of the classic cuvée.
Biondi-Santi’s director of winemaking, Federico Radi, and Decanter’s Tina Gellie led guests through some very special bottles of this Brunello icon, including their Riserva Brunellos from 1988 and 1975. Among the very first names in Sangiovese, the Brunellos of Biondi-Santi are a true masterclass in one of the world’s very special wines.
Rioja was the name on everyone’s lips for the day, from the masterclass celebrating the DOCa’s 100 years with Master Sommelier Jonathan Eicholz and Decanter’s Ines Salpico, to the special Rioja bar, with some unbelievable options with plenty of age and a special lunch menu paired with the impressive buffet put on by Manhatta’s culinary team.
Rioja Bar and Featured Region for DFWE 2025. Credit: Alfonso Lozano Films
Our Decanter editorial team will provide extensive coverage over the next few days of each of the masterclasses.
While attendees were queuing for the early masterclass, our first VIP Editor’s Lunches were underway with a Champagne toast, followed by exclusive wines from select winemakers for our exclusive guests. The small groups were treated to philosophical conversations on the emerging elegance of North American Pinot Noir and timeless Napa icons that included magnums of Cabernet from the 1990s, Sonoma Coast Pinot rarities and a mini-masterclass in Niagara’s dynamic terroir from winemaker Thomas Bachelder. All of it tied with a bow that included a Decanter-only inside scoop from our Napa correspondent, Jonathan Cristaldi, and yours truly.
On the Grand Tasting floor, guests were entertained by 50 producers all pouring special cuvées as the rain lashed the floor-to-ceiling glass with dizzying views of Manhattan.
Winemaker Trey Fletcher, of Santa Barbara’s founding Sanford & Benedict, was pouring some fantastic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from this coastal region, and he was really impressed with the calibre of guests at his first DFWE. ‘The questions from the guests are great. They’re clearly here to learn, not just drink wine, many of them are properly tasting and spitting, which makes this a very unique crowd,’ Fletcher said.
Highlight wines on the day included the 2015 Cristom, Louise Vineyard Pinot Noir, which showed Oregon’s ageability; a 2010 bottling of Vérité’s La Joie and a very impressive Barolo from Damilano, their Cannubi Riserva, ‘1752.’
Guests found plenty to be excited about among the 50 producers, the extensive offerings from the DWWA award-winning bar, and a deep selection of Rioja wines into the early evening.
As the clouds parted and rays of sun came to end the day, wine lovers left content and counting the days to the DFWE in 2026.
Credit: Alfonso Lozano Films
