Jonathan Cristaldi

Articles by Jonathan Cristaldi

• East Meets West

  Highlighting recent releases from New York State and Santa Barbara County.

• Cristaldi’s Top 100 Wines of 2025

  Cristaldi’s selects his Top 100 wines of 2025.

• Sonoma County Buyer's Guide 2025

  Jonathan Cristaldi's 2025 Sonoma Buyer's Guide features 340+ wines reviewed and scored from 2021 to 2024 release wines.

• Fredericksburg Food & Wine and Over 100 New Tasting Notes on Texas Wines
• Oregon's Rogue Valley - Wine Buyer's Guide

  The Rogue Valley is slowly shedding its “under-the-radar” status, driven by passionate individuals making wines with real personality and polish—and at incredibly affordable prices

• For JL Wood’s Ed Filice, Making Chardonnay is “Like Jazz”

  A good Marin County friend suggested I check out what Ed Filice at JL Wood Wines is doing with Chardonnay. I did just that.

• New York State's Wine Awakening

  In early June of 2025, Jonathan Cristaldi visited three New York State wine regions. 15 winery profiles and over 250 wines reviewed.

• Santa Barbara County: A Wine 'Phenomenon'

  Jonathan Cristaldi hits the wine trail in the California's Santa Barbara County, visiting 12 Wineries and reviewing over 170 wines.

• Livermore Valley Report (2025): 9 Wineries, Over 160 Wines

  Jonathan Cristaldi hits the wine trail in the Livermore Valley, visiting 9 wineries, and tasting over 160 wines. What is so 'cool' about Livermore? Find out.

• Texas Wine Report (Part II – 2025) Auction and 60 New Wines

  Jonathan Cristaldi attends the Texas Wine Auction, tastes 60 more Texas Wines and adds 7 new wineries to his Texas Report.

• Cristaldi: 13 Sonoma County Barrel Auction Lot Scores and Reviews

  Jonathan Cristaldi rates and reviews 13 select lots from the 2025 Sonoma County Barrel Auction.

• Cristaldi’s Top 20 Texas Wines for Restaurant By-The-Glass Lists

  Cristaldi’s selects his top 20 Texas wines ideally suited for by-the-glass placements on restaurant wine lists.

• Cristaldi’s Top 20 Texas Wines for Restaurant By-The-Bottle Lists

  Cristaldi’s selects his top 20 Texas wines for on-premise restaurant buyers for their bottle lists.

• The "Burgundy of Italy"

  From my "Punchdown" column in Somm Journal: Meet Isola delle Falcole.

• A Surge Across Sonoma

  Winemaker Jesse Katz on the importance of Sonoma County to California wine and food culture.

• Come Over October: The Italian Way

  At Cascina Baricchi in Barbaresco, food and incredible wine bring people together.

• A Legacy in Limestone: Exploring the Terroir of Chalone Vineyard

  A few years ago, I spent a full day at Chalone. I met Richard Boer, who, at the time, had managed Chalone’s vines for three decades.