Grape Collective

10/05/2025

What does the wine world need to change? 🍷
asked thoughtful winemakers with decades of experience one simple question: What one thing would you like to see changed in the wine world?
Their answers might surprise you:
🔹 “Make hot dog wines for starters” – yes, really
🔹 End the obsession with points and scores
🔹 Lower alcohol wines for better balance
🔹 Meet wine lovers where they actually ARE (hello, social media)
🔹 Support small family wineries over massive conglomerates
🔹 Make wine about connection, not competition
From Napa to Sonoma to Oregon, these winemakers share a common vision: wine should be accessible, fun, and about bringing people together – not intimidating or precious.
One winemaker dreams of creating 7% alcohol wines specifically for baseball games. Another wants marketing that simply says “Wine. Friends. Wine. Family Farms.”
The message? It’s time for wine to stop taking itself so seriously.
Read the full column to hear from Kerith Overstreet (Bruliam) Cathy Corison John and Tracey Skupny Theodora Lee Doug and Lee Nalle Eugenia Keegan , Chris Howell (Cain) Rolando Herrera (Mi Sueño), and more voices shaping wine’s future. Link in bio.👇

10/03/2025

🍷 TONIGHT at our Montclair NJ location - Taste the Wine of Resilience 🍷
Few wines carry a story like When civil war erupted in Lebanon in 1975, the Ghosn family fled their Bekaa Valley estate, leaving everything behind. Seventeen years later, brothers Sami and Ramzi returned to find their land in ruins—but they didn’t just rebuild. They created something extraordinary.
With legendary French partners from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bordeaux, Massaya has become one of Lebanon’s finest wineries, sparking a renaissance that grew the country’s wine scene from 4 to 45+ wineries.
Tonight we’re pouring Le Colombier 🌄
A stunning Mediterranean blend from 40-year-old vines at 900-1,200m elevation
What to expect:
✨ Ripe blackberry & red cherry
✨ Black pepper & licorice
✨ Supple tannins & chocolate notes
✨ Full-bodied yet fresh
Through wars, bombings, and regional conflict, the Ghosn brothers have persevered—harvesting grapes with planes overhead, postponing vintages during military operations. Their wine is more than just delicious—it’s a message of peace from one of the world’s oldest winemaking regions.
📍 Grape Collective Montclair
🕐 TODAY
Come taste history, resilience, and exceptional winemaking in a glass.

09/30/2025

🏔️ How Alto Adige is Rising Above Climate Change 🍇
Nestled in the Dolomites, Italy’s smallest wine region has a secret weapon against warming temperatures: altitude.
With vineyards ranging from 700 to 3,000 feet, Alto Adige (South Tyrol) offers something few wine regions can—the ability to match each grape variety to its perfect elevation. 🎯
🌡️ Cabernet Sauvignon thrives low. Pinot Blanc performs brilliantly mid-slope. Pinot Noir excels at nearly 2,800 feet.
The result? Even as summers heat up, Alto Adige maintains the crisp acidity and vibrant aromatics that define its wines. During the day, temperatures can hit 95°F, then plummet to the low 50s at night—creating that signature freshness.
Today, 65% of plantings are white varieties (compared to red dominance not long ago), proving how thoughtfully this region is adapting to our changing climate.
As winemaker Cristof Tiefenbrunner puts it: “Other regions in Italy don’t have this possibility. If the variety no longer works in the climate, they have a problem. Here, we can adjust.”
📖 Read ’s full story on how Alto Adige’s vertical landscape is becoming a blueprint for climate-resilient winemaking. Link in bio.

09/25/2025

🍷✨ Breaking Ground in Texas Wine Country ✨🍷
Meet Dr. Bob Young from - the pioneering winemaker who asked a game-changing question: “Why aren’t we using LOCAL wood for our Texas wines?” 🤔
His answer? Texas White Oak. 🌳
After 6 years of experimentation, Dr. Bob’s 2020 Tannat Reserve and 2021 Texas Cowboy Cuvée Reserve (aged with Texas white oak blocks) just swept awards at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition! 🏆
The best part? This isn’t just about amazing wine - it’s about elevating Texas terroir and sustainability. From grape to glass to wood, everything is grown and crafted right here in the Lone Star State. 🌟
Plus, there’s now a cooperage opening in Blanco, TX to meet growing demand from wineries AND the booming Texas whiskey industry! 🥃
Read the full story by of this Texas wine revolution (link in bio) and discover why sometimes the best innovation comes from asking “why not?”

09/22/2025

Elevating Local Terroir with Texas White Oak: Dr. Bob Explains
"Why Texas white oak? So we called Dr. Bob, who told us that the process of getting to these releases with white oak took six years. " Read the column by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher about Bending Branch Winery

We’re partial to people who have the courage to depart from the mainstream. In the wine world, many match that description. Our interest in probing minds led us to say yes when we were offered two unusual wines from Bending Branch Winery in Comfort, Texas, a winery founded in 2009 by Dr. Robert Yo...

09/19/2025

🍷 Piedmont perfection happening NOW!
Sipping on Guidobono Nebbiolo at and it’s absolutely stunning ✨ This elegant Italian beauty is showing off notes of cherry, rose petals, and that signature Nebbiolo earthiness that makes your heart skip a beat.
📍 Grape Collective, Montclair NJ
⏰ 4-6 PM today
🍇 Come taste the magic of this exceptional Barolo-region producer
Nothing beats discovering incredible wines with fellow wine lovers on a Friday evening.
Who’s joining us? 🥂

09/18/2025

🍷 Too sweet??? 🤯
Think you only drink “dry” wine? Think again!
That popular Caymus Cab you love? It has 10g/L of residual sugar. Your go-to Meiomi Pinot? 20g/L.
But here’s the kicker: a can of Coke has 110g/L of sugar. That “super sweet” Sauternes dessert wine? Still barely sweeter than your daily cola! 🥤
Lee Pai .a.wine.journal latest piece on completely flips the script on wine sweetness.

From the painstaking process of making noble rot wines to why mass-market brands add residual sugar, this deep dive will change how you think about sweetness in wine forever.
Ready to have your wine world rocked? Link in bio 👆

09/15/2025

🎬✨ INCREDIBLE NEWS! ✨🎬
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that **NOAH’S VINES** has won **BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM** at the prestigious Stratford upon Avon Film Festival! 🏆🎉

To be recognized alongside such incredible talent in the heart of Shakespeare country is truly an honor. Thank you to the amazing team at for creating such a wonderful platform for filmmakers from around the world.

This award belongs to the incredible filmmakers of Armenia and the GC creative team the amazing and everyone who believed in this story from day one. 🙏

Stratford upon Avon has been celebrating the arts for centuries, and we’re humbled to now be part of that legacy. Here’s to the power of international cinema and storytelling that connects us all! 🌍🎭

09/12/2025

How sweet is too sweet?
"Another popular supermarket brand, Meiomi, supposedly has around 20g/L of RS3 in their Pinot Noir. Why do they do this? Is their business model really just about deceiving consumers?" Read the column by Lee Pai

Among the universe of wine characteristics that customers can describe to restaurant sommeliers or wine store staff, the distaste for 'sweetness' in wine is quite common. Part of it is the wine industry's own fault, having allowed bad apples like Blue Nun and White Zinfandel to tarnish the image of....

09/10/2025

💕 When winemaker couples can’t agree… they make TWO wines! 🍷
Meet Ryan and Megan Glaab of , who fell in love while working harvest in Australia and brought their romance (and creative differences) back to California. Their solution to disagreeing on Vermentino style? Make both “His” and “Hers” versions!
🥂 HERS: Crisp, fresh, bright citrus - straight to press
🍾 HIS: Richer, golden, skin contact with extended aging
Wine legends Dorothy Gaiter & John Brecher discovered this adorable wine story during a nostalgic dinner at The Ribbon in NYC, and we’re here for this level of couple goals!
Which style sounds more like YOU? His or Hers? 👇
Read their full tasting notes and interview with the Glaabs on Grape Collective (link in bio!)

09/05/2025

Ryme’s Hers and His Vermentinos and a Trip Back to The Dakota
"Wine can be romantic. The people who make it and drink it certainly can attest to its capacity to inspire. Love stories abound in the wine world. That’s why we’ve written our Valentine’s series. But even we were surprised and charmed to find that one couple had such different visions of a wine that they bottle “His” and “Hers” versions." Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher

Wine can be romantic. The people who make it and drink it certainly can attest to its capacity to inspire.  Love stories abound in the wine world. That’s why we’ve written our Valentine’s series. But even we were surprised and charmed to find that one couple had such different visions of a wi...