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Tom Hewson, Eugenio Egorov and Victoria Mason MW tasted 82 wines, with 1 Outstanding and 41 Highly Recommended Non-vintage rosé Champagne: Panel tasting scores 82 wines tasted Exceptional 0 Outstanding 1 Highly recommended 41 Recommended 38 Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their non-vintage rosé Champagnes in any dryness level, from zero dosage up to sweeter …

Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently. This past week included an eclectic mix of wines from here, there and everywhere. Let’s …

Marilisa Allegrini with daughters, Carlotta (l) and Caterina, and CEO Andrea Lonardi. Until the early 1980s, Valpolicella was regarded as a cheap, thin, quaffing wine of no distinction. Until, that is, Giovanni Allegrini and a handful of others changed that perception by acquiring outstanding vineyards and producing wines with concentration and personality. After his death in 1983, Giovanni’s sons Walter …

A lot of people pay big bucks to live amongst the vines. But if you’re a Rufous Hornero, you just find a convenient end-post and start building. Also known as the Red Oven Bird (and sometimes affectionately as the Engineer Bird) these relatively nondescript birds are all over Uruguay and the rest of South America. This one made its home …

Costières de Nîmes AOC is the most southerly appellation in the Rhône valley, nestled at the edge of the Rhône delta, in the hills overlooking the Camargue, with vineyards as little as 20km (12.5 miles) to the Mediterranean sea. The appellation is best understood as two halves, either side of a large hill: a south-facing half facing the sea, and …

Edward Ragg MW is a new judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Edward Ragg MW, Ph.D.Edward Ragg MW Edward co-founded Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting in Beijing with his wife and partner Fongyee Walker MW in 2007. Having read English at Oxford University, Edward began blind-tasting at Cambridge whilst writing an M.Phil. and, later, Ph.D. dissertation on American …

Whether you’re looking to fête the start of 2025 in the utmost style or still planning this year’s calendar, we’ve pulled together some of the most decadent ways to celebrate the end of the winter season and beyond – because why should the party stop after New Year’s Eve? If you’re still trying to find a gift for that family …

In March 1933 millions of Americans toasted President Franklin D. Roosevelt after he repealed the Prohibition. National morale was at rock bottom amid the Great Depression, so the new president declared: ‘I think this would be a good time for a beer.’ Ninety-two years later, the spectre of prohibition looms over the nation once again. This time, the new president …

Nicola Chiucchiurlotto in his vineyard It’s the iconic greeting you get when you walk into The Varsity, a hotdog and milkshake joint in Atlanta: ‘What’ll ya have?’ It’s a mix of southern US charm and the casualness of a friend: it lets you drop your shoulders and relax – no pressure or judgement. And this is the question, with all …

If one thing is certain about the restaurant industry, it’s that things change: Fresh faces come onto the scene, established chefs seek a change of pace, restaurant groups try to tap into up-and-coming trends. Below are eight exciting, upcoming openings that we at Wine Spectator think will stand out in 2025, including a Caribbean-influenced spot from an acclaimed group, an …

Florencia Gomez is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Florencia GomezFlorencia Gomez Florencia is an Argentinian wine professional with over 15 years of experience all along the wine industry. She is currently a stage 2 MW candidate based in London. After getting her winemaking degree, she spent the first six years making wine in Argentina, the …

Eugenio Egorov is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Eugenio EgorovEugenio Egorov Eugenio Egorov is the head sommelier and wine buyer at 5-star The Stafford in London. Born in Ukraine, he began his hospitality career in restaurants in Italy and the United States of America before moving to London in 2014. He rose through the ranks …

Marcelo Pino is a new judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). DWWA Judge, Marcelo PinoMarcelo Pino As a Chilean sommelier, Marcelo has been dedicated to wine and gastronomy for many years. Twice chosen as the best sommelier in Chile (2011 to 2017), second best in America in 2015, and number twenty-four in the world in 2016. He …

Vertical tastings are often a self-indulgent exercise through which producers try to assert the superiority, longevity and consistent quality of their wines. However, sometimes an invitation to taste all produced vintages of a given label comes with the enticing challenging of revisiting its evolution, consider the missteps and give feedback on the direction and goals of the current winemaking team. …

Larry Cherubino and Peter Richards MW It’s the end of a long day. The sun is setting over the ocean in a smug riot of pastels. I’ve been bombarding Larry Cherubino with wine questions all day, so now opt for a different approach. How would he describe his driving over the hundreds of kilometres we’ve travelled today from the Great …

Wine producers and trade members have had to withstand a storm of pressure in recent years, including climate change challenges, rising production costs, regulatory headaches and falling consumption linked to lifestyle changes. And yet, plenty of consumers continue to enjoy wines of all styles. Market research group Mintel estimated the UK wine market alone was worth nearly £15bn in sales …

Highland Park, one of Scotland’s oldest whisky distilleries, now in its 227th year of production, has released its latest landmark bottling, a 56-year-old single malt. The whisky, with a distillation date going all the way back to 1968, was part of a parcel of ten casks, which master whisky maker, Gordon Motion, identified as having both ‘exceptional complexity and vibrancy’, …

Nero d’Avola grapes at Bassham Wines, Riverland, Australia How times change. On my first visit to Australia in 2002, the wine scene was dramatically different from 2025. Yes: the energy, dynamism and world-class wines were there, but the drivers of the industry were not the same as they are today. ‘In 2002, Australian viticulture was characterised by scale, innovation and …

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I post them to my magazine on Flipboard, but for those of you who aren’t Flipboard-inclined, here’s everything I’ve strained out of the wine-related muck for the week. Gauging the gravity shift at GravnerIt’s not clear what will change, but something will. …

André Soltner, the dedicated French chef behind Lutèce who helped turn New York City into a world-class dining destination, died on Jan. 18. He was 92. From 1961 to 1994, Soltner led the kitchen at his French bistro on Manhattan’s East Side at 50th Street, teaching American diners what classic French techniques could do when coupled with fresh, first-class ingredients. …