In the New York Times, Eric Asimov gets a chance to taste bottles of wine produced during World War II. “In Europe’s vineyards, growers and producers labored under wartime conditions. French vignerons also endured the brutal, terrifying conditions of Nazi occupation, all against the backdrop of the deportation of Jews and others and the horrors of the Holocaust. Their perseverance is testimony to their courage and ingenuity as well as to the cultural importance of wine in France, where it was regarded as something of a national emblem worth protecting with one’s life.”

Elsewhere in the New York Times, John Eligon profiles Paul Siguqa, who grew up hating wineries because his mother toiled in their fields. But last year he opened the only fully Black-owned vineyard in Franschhoek, one of South Africa’s most prestigious wine towns.

In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre talks to Wine Enthusiast’s decision to stop reviewing certain American wines. “Wine Enthusiast’s spokeswoman, Bonnary Lek, told me via email that the “business decision” to limit reviews to those five states was to focus on “wines that are available in the market to our readers.”…This seems disingenuous if the magazine is targeting dedicated wine lovers who might subscribe to a glossy monthly and seek out exciting wines from anywhere, increasingly available through direct purchase from wineries.”

Constellation Brands Inc. has sold more of its portfolio as the nation’s fifth-largest wine company downsizes to focus on the premium market. Bill Swindell has the details in the Press Democrat.

In the Buyer, wine communicator John Downes on how animation can help shake up wine education.

Head of the fourth largest wine business in California, and its biggest landowner, Fred Franzia, who died on September 13, aged 79, was a spectacularly divisive character. In Meininger’s, Robert Joseph considers both sides of the story.

In Wine Enthusiast, Anna Lee C. Iijima on how to score Burgundy wine on a budget.