The Court of Master Sommeliers has welcomed seven new Masters to its ranks: Chris Miller of Spago; Desmond Echavarrie of The French Laundry; Gillian Ballance of Cavallo Point Lodge; Ian Cauble of Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay; John Ragan of Union Square Hospitality Group; Sur Lucero of Oenotri; and Yoon Ha of Benu. Congratulations to all!

Jon Bonné compiles “a list of five things to watch for in California wine through the coming year.”

In Food Republic, Chantal Martineau contends that wines from Macedonia are the next big thing. (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

MIT’s Sloan School of Management profiles Wine Advocate critic (and Sloan alum) Antonio Galloni.

“Ovid Napa Valley is among a select few new winery projects that have made me stand up and take notice instead of yawn over Yet-Another-Napa-Cabernet.” So proclaims Alder Yarrow in a wonderful piece on Ovid.

In Serious Eats, Seema Gunda tastes her way through the wine list at Olive Garden.

W. Blake Gray tells a winemaker in Napa Valley that his $80 wine isn’t worth the price, because it isn’t very good. The winemaker agrees that the wine stinks, but thinks it’s worth $80.

CBS This Morning profiles Deborah Brenner and her efforts to succeed in a “male-dominated industry” through Women of the Vine.

Hong Kong isn’t just consuming wine, it’s also producing it. In TIME Magazine, Courtney Subramanian writes about Portrait Winery, which makes “‘Grand-Cru style’ wine from grapes grown primarily in vineyards in Southern Oregon, Australia’s McLaren Vale region and Waipara Valley in New Zealand.”

In the Chicago Tribune, Bill St. John explains why “Sauvignon Blanc is a quintessential summer wine.”