News

My curiosity hatched in 1990. The Banco d’Assaggio dei Vini d’Italia, organised by Perugia-based Giorgio Lungarotti and his family, was the first wine competition I was ever invited to. It proved frustrating, with an inflexible, box-ticking scoring system and no chance to find out what we’d tasted afterwards. What was the point? What impressed me was the tasteful serenity of …

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. After almost two decades of making only red wine, Tim Mondavi’s family, whose primary efforts …

David Williams,  Matthew Forster MW and Luis Gamiz tasted 86 wines, with 5 Oustanding and 38 Highly Recommended Montsant: Panel tasting scores 86 wines tasted Exceptional 0 Outstanding 5 Highly recommended 38 Recommended 38 Commended 5 Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release still dry (or off-dry) red, white and rosé wines from DO Montsant No matter …

How long is a piece of string?’ quips Michael Dal Zotto of Dal Zotto Wines in Victoria’s King Valley wine region – a pithy yet fitting response to a big question: What’s the next big thing for Italian varieties in Australia? ‘I have a personal preference for Pinot Bianco,’ he adds, ‘but Fiano and Montepulciano are definitely appealing to the …

The church in the town of Spitz, Austria stands watch over some of the Wachau Valley’s most prized vineyards during winter. In some of the small towns lining the valley sometimes it seems like nearly every space not taken up by buildings is filled with vines. This steep-walled valley is known for producing some of Austria’s finest Riesling and Grüner …

Ernst Loosen and Chateau Ste Michelle’s vice president of winemaking Katie Nelson. ‘The whole thing started in [19]99 when I was visiting Oregon’, says Ernst ‘Ernie’ Loosen, explaining the origin of the Eroica collaboration with Washington’s founding winery, Chateau Ste Michelle. Having embarked on a joint venture with the Antinori family in 1995 at Col Solare on Red Mountain, Ste …

Who’s behind it: Earlier this year, chef and restaurateur Michael White opened Santi in Midtown Manhattan. Located on the ground floor of Tishman Speyer’s 520 Madison Avenue, this is the latest restaurant—and the first in New York—from BBianco Hospitality, which White co-founded with business partner Bruce Bronster in 2020. But this isn’t White’s first venture within the building: The same …

Arcadia Vineyard in Coombsville, Napa Valley. Winiarski founded Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, which put Napa Valley on the map after its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the landmark Judgement of Paris in 1976. In 1996, he purchased Arcadia Vineyard, a 55-hectare (ha) estate in the Coombsville AVA, from Austin Hills of Grgich Hills Estate. Winiarski oversaw both Napa Valley estates until …

Lorenzo Palla. The story goes that, in the early 1960s, Charles de Gaulle, then president of France, was served a wine at an official dinner at the Gritti Palace in Venice which greatly impressed him. Convinced it was a Bordeaux, he asked the sommelier the name of the Chateau he was drinking, only to be informed that the wine he …

Inland Victoria offers wines of outstanding quality and incredible diversity. Victoria’s stunning inland landscapes are home to some of Australia’s greatest wine regions. From the Italian heritage of the King Valley to some of the world’s oldest vines in the Goulburn Valley, character, diversity and innovation abound. There are some truly exciting producers and stunning wines to discover. Rory Lane …

Vandals have uprooted 10 small Chardonnay plants, including five experimental vines and five ‘control’ vines, in San Floriano di Valpolicella, northern Italy. Unknown perpetrators attacked the experimental vineyard being used by the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Verona during the night of 12 and 13 February. No motive has been confirmed, although one hypothesis was that vandals may …

Koshu is Japan’s indigenous grape variety with the majority produced in Yamanashi, at the foothills of Mount Fuji. Credit: Koshu of Japan Known for its subtle, semi-aromatic character and, increasingly, its versatility, Koshu has been gaining attention in Western markets with limited but growing distribution in the UK and US. From the classic crisp and ethereal style to more textured …

The copper pot still at Almqvist Destilleri Traditionally, you would find aquavit on the table at celebratory occasions in Scandinavia, served neat with food – no bad thing, and something that the region’s ubiquitous spirit excels at. But there’s a growing appreciation for aquavit’s mixing potential, too, whether it’s simply paired with tonic, employed in a Nordic twist on the …

Seppeltsfield 1925 Para Vintage Tawny The world’s longest continuing library of vintage fortified wine has issued its latest chapter, with Australia’s Seppeltsfield launching a 1925 Para Vintage Tawny. Following a tradition established by pioneer Barossa Valley winemaker Oscar ‘Benno’ Seppelt, who first laid down a barrel of vintage fortified in 1878 with instructions not to issue it for 100 years, …

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 a couple more sparkling wines from my local urban winery, Hammerling …

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. Advice for wine communicatorsSam offers her thoughts after a panel I moderated. The Science …

Harvest time at Rumbo al Norte. Credit: Salvador ArellanoComando G, Rumbo al Norte, Cerebros, Gredos First vintage: 2010 No one can claim to understand the essence of Spanish Garnacha until they’ve tasted Rumbo al Norte (‘Route to the North’). ‘It’s liquid granite,’ says Daniel Landi, one of the founders of Comando G. ‘Rumbo al Norte changed our lives – and …

The Chaîne des Puys is a chain of extinct volcanes located in the Auvergne, here with the Puy de Pariou in the foreground and Puy de Dôme in the background. Are you looking for Loire wines with a difference? Whites beyond Sauvignon Blanc, or Gamays with real character? Do you want to surprise wine-loving friends with a wine they’ve never …

The Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St James, is a complex network of pilgrimage routes that lead to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the remains of the apostle St James the Elder are believed to be buried. The Camino is hugely popular, with nearly 450,000 pilgrims making their way towards Santiago in …

Wine writing is often awful. It can be obscenely dull. It can be entertaining, but written by those who know too little (or, worse, think they know more than they do). Perhaps the worst is the odd troupe of writers who don’t even seem to like wine. Dan Keeling – one half of the duo behind Noble Rot – is …