News

Winemaker Andrew Thomas sampling the latest vintage of Thomas Wines Semillon. The dry white Semillon of Hunter Valley is one of the wine world’s greatest secrets. It has a devoted following among those consumers who have discovered it and it’s revered by the winemakers of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; yet it goes curiously uncelebrated in much of …

Beth Willard, Valentin Radosav and David Williams tasted 77 wines, with 2 Outstanding and 24 Highly Recommended. Aragón reds: Panel tasting scores 40 wines tasted Exceptional 0 Outstanding 2 Highly recommended 24 Recommended 47 Commended 4 Fair 0 Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit current-release, still red wines from DOs Calatayud, Campo de Borja, Cariñena and …

Ripened Riesling ready for harvest in Ontario. The 1970s marked the quality wine movement for Ontario and Canada at large. Riesling was there from the start, with the first vines planted in 1976. As Canada’s largest viticultural area, Ontario currently has 18,000 acres (7,300ha) under vine. Riesling makes up approximately 1,600 acres of this, neck and neck with Chardonnay. The …

Vines look out on the Hauraki Gulf from their home perched on a hill on Waiheke Island, a short ferry ride from Auckland, New Zealand. A popular site for weekenders and tourists alike, Waiheke possesses a unique and distinctive wine region of its own, and plays host to a number of high-quality wineries. INSTRUCTIONS:Download this image by right-clicking on the …

We’re wrapping up season 2 of Wine Spectator’s Straight Talk podcast by counting down the Top 10 Wines of 2024 with senior editor and host James Molesworth. But before James reveals this year’s 10 most exciting wines, including Wine Spectator’s 2024 Wine of the Year, we’re taking a look at the economic state of the wine industry with longtime industry …

Justin Smith and his son Colin, Saxum Vineyards. After a near-perfect 2021 vintage in Paso Robles, on the Central Coast, the 2022 harvest came in hot. It was a vintage defined by a relentless 10-day heat spike of 40°C or hotter from 31 August through 9 September, forcing vintners into a sprint to pick early, resulting in a compacted harvest …

The growers congregated outside Lidl supermarkets in Orange and Bagnols-sur-Cèze to vent their anger at wines allegedly being sold at a loss. They smashed several bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine, which retails for just €1.69 (£1.41) per bottle at Lidl, as the protests mounted. Jordan Charransol, president of the Young Farmers of Vaucluse, accused retailers of carrying out ‘a downgrading’ of …

Last month, France’s agriculture ministry unveiled a plan to pull up 30,000 hectares in a bid to tackle a significant supply-demand imbalance. The government offered to pay grape growers €4,000 for each hectare (ha) they uproot, and it earmarked €120m for the scheme. The window for applications has now closed, and the ministry revealed that 5,418 growers have agreed to …

Organic whiskies Whisky legend the late Dr Jim Swan once described organic barley as an expensive waste of time. That was almost a decade ago and he was talking mainly about distillery economics. But did he have a point? We know organic farming increases biodiversity and improves soil health. ‘If you’ve ever visited an organic farm and a non-organic farm, you …

Finding suitable gifts for a serious wine lover can be tricky. If they’re serious enough, they’ve already got most of what they want or need when it comes to wine. That’s why I put together a gift guide each year filled with things that are excellent gifts for the wine lover who already has everything. There are always two things …

Sometimes even the world’s best-known chefs need to return to their roots, and that includes Emeril Lagasse. The chef’s latest endeavor, 34 Restaurant & Bar, opened in New Orleans’ Warehouse District last month near his Grand Award–winning flagship Emeril’s, the restaurant that solidified Lagasse’s place as an icon of Creole cooking. But this new restaurant represents a significant shift: Lagasse …

At Future Publishing we rely on advertising to keep bringing you the content you love to read. The majority of the content on Decanter.com is created solely by our editorial team, but on occasion we also work with external partners to create content we hope our readers will find interesting and useful.  In some cases, advertisers support us in producing content. …

It’s hard to keep up with the increased pace of change at Lidl: this year, the supermarket has moved from wine range refreshes every two months to every month. Each refresh has a different theme, ensuring new and interesting wines are always available in store. But it also means that you need to act quickly as they don’t hang around …

Vineyards in Oeiras, used for the production of Carcavelos, standing proud against the urban sprawl The undulating 20-mile stretch between Lisbon and Cascais – known as Estoril Coast (after the coastal town of the same name) and dubbed ‘the Portuguese Riviera’ – is fêted for having 18 sandy beaches and one of Europe’s highest concentration of world-class surf. However, during …

Black Stallion’s director of winemaking, Ralf Holdenried. Led by German-born Ralf Holdenried, Black Stallion Winery’s winemaking team – including fourth-generation Indelicato family winemaker Stephen Mathews — save their best grapes and best terroirs for the Prestige Collection. Complex, age-worthy reds aimed at exhibiting the pinnacle varietal expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. How they differ comes down to sourcing, wine …

Tempranillo, Spain’s most important red grape variety, is versatile – capable of producing juicy, red-fruit driven young wines as well as wines that can withstand long ageing periods in oak, gaining complexity with layers of vanilla, leather, tobacco spice and liquorice. Considered native to Rioja, Tempranillo is now a key variety in Spain’s most prominent wine regions, notably Ribera del …

Within a short distance of each other, we have the grey post-war Brutalist of the Barbican and the neat, symmetrical Georgian houses of Mayfair, while Gothic (or neo-Gothic) churches sit in the shade of modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers that have reached far beyond their spires. Architecture has succeeded in forging new styles beyond historical forms, challenging planning laws and innovating with …

The Napa Valley estate, which lies at the end of a bucolic country lane in St Helena, encompasses a 6,300 sq. ft. home, a winery, a tasting room and vineyards planted with Italian varietals. ‘Encompassed by vineyards and the organic landscape of the Napa River, the agrarian setting is unrivalled, offering everything wine country often promises, but rarely delivers,’ reads …

Concha y Toro is the largest wine producer to join an initiative called the Bottle Weight Accord, which is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of wine packaging. Participants commit to reducing the average weight of their 750ml still wine bottles to 420g or below by the end of 2026. That will significantly reduce their carbon gas emissions. Valentina Lira, …

Any moment now, regular as clockwork, your inbox will be filled with updates from various wine and food publications offering articles to assist you with the presumably daunting task of choosing wines to accompany your Thanksgiving dinner. As a consequence, I feel it my duty to offer a periodic reminder that Thanksgiving wine pairings are a fool’s errand. Not least …