The wait is over… the 2022 MAXEM Silver Eagle Vineyard Pinot Noir is Wine Destinations’ Wine of the Year. MAXEM is the family project of Sam and Nancy Kaplan. They launched the project in 2015 and named it after their kids, Max and Emma. MAXEM also happens to mean best of the best in Latin, which is fitting as they are producing some of the best Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in Sonoma.

Aiurri, which means character in Basque, is fittingly the name of Alma Carraovejas’ new winery in Rioja Alavesa. The winery is located in the small town of Leza, but driving through town, you would never know it’s there unless you had been given directions on how to find it. This was the plan all along when the team at Alma Carraovejas decided to become one of the neighbors of the approximately 200 residents of Leza.

Conveniently located in the town of Peñafiel, between the cities of Valladolid and Burgos, you will find Hotel AF Pesquera. Housed in a meticulously renovated old flour mill that dates back to 1922, the hotel is the vision of the Fernández Rivera Family, who is one of the pioneering families of Ribera del Duero.