News

Tesco has recently undertaken the biggest overhaul of its wine range in 15 years, making space for 130 new products. The number of wines from South America has increased, and the quality here is indeed high, as evidenced by wines from Argentina’s Zuccardi, Catena, El Esteco and Bodega Aleanna. In a first for a UK supermarket, Tesco has taken the …

Ferrer was born in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, a Catalonian town known as the capital of cava, on 19 October 1925. His parents, Pedro Ferrer Bosch and Dolors Sala Vivé, had established Freixenet 11 years earlier. He was just 10 years old when the Spanish Civil War erupted, and his father and older brother were sadly killed during the conflict. Ferrer’s …

Fine wine cellars at Paris restaurants have become a target for thieves. Burglars used the cover of darkness to target the Paris restaurant wine cellar, escaping with a loot valued at €60,000 (£50,000). Their haul contained several grand cru wines that sell for more than €2,000 per bottle. French authorities did not name the restaurant that was targeted, but Le …

The origin of gin The history of gin has been rewritten in a new book by Master Distiller Jared Brown and his wife, drinks historian Anistatia Miller. A Most Noble Water (£14.95 Mixellany) debunks the story that gin originated in Holland in the guise of Dutch genever. While conducting research in the National Archives, Brown discovered an English recipe from …

Valter: ‘We met during secondary school on the bus, in 1984… Nadia’s father [Elvio Cogno] managed Ristorante dell’Angelo in La Morra but his dream was to make wine, and so he began a relationship with Marcarini winery, making wines until 1990, when he purchased land in Ravera, Novello. He was born in Ravera and knew this cru very well. ‘We …

The California wine industry is in the doldrums as it faces three challenges at once: consumer spending on wine is declining, inventory is backed up in the sales pipeline and there’s a glut of grapes and bulk wine left over from the 2024 harvest. The last hazard, the oversupply of grapes, poses an immediate threat. Many growers, even in top regions …

Donald Trump at an election night event in Florida this week. Donald Trump is to become the 47th president of the US following an inauguration in January 2025, and his election victory this week has put the possibility of fresh tariffs on wine and many other goods in sharper focus.  Trump told Bloomberg on the campaign trail that ‘tariff’ was …

Ramón Bilbao’s Monte Yerga vineyards in Rioja. In 2024 Ramón Bilbao turns 100. Rather than simply celebrating its past, the company is looking determinedly to the future. From the beginning, when Ramón Bilbao Murga opened his first winery in Haro in 1924, the company’s activities have been driven by a spirit of curiosity grounded in quality. Mirto is produced only …

Caroline Gilby MW with Rebula producers at the Brda – Home of Rebula event. Twenty years ago, Rebula (known as Ribolla Gialla in Italy) was given little attention, even in its homeland: the hills of Brda (or Goris?ka Brda) and Collio that straddle the Slovenia-Italy border. Tastings of the area’s wines were all about Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Merlot, overshadowing this …

The village of Meursault and its vineyards. Fantastic Chardonnay can be found worldwide, but Burgundy remains the benchmark and a must-have for any serious white wine collector. Some of the world’s greatest white wines are forged in the Côte d’Or, while the splendour of Chablis and rise of the Mâconnais attest to Burgundy’s rich variety of terroir-driven producers. As with …

Amarone is one of those wines which evokes different feelings in different people. Some may recall enjoying the rich, curranty fruit and warming alcohol in their favourite chair on a winter’s night. A vino da meditazione which needs no accompaniment. Others may find that it’s a food-friendly wine perfect for drinking with roast lamb or seasonal game, and some enjoy …

One of the most well known international red grape varieties, ever fluctuating in popularity, Merlot is not to be underestimated. It’s characterised by red fruits such as ripe plums, gentle spices, soft tannins and rounded, plush texture, expressing notes of mocha or chocolate with oak influence. The best examples have great ageing potential. Merlot can produce noteworthy varietal wines and …

Travel east out of Rome, over the grandeur of the Apennine mountains, and once you start to descend on the other side, you will find yourself in the tranquil majesty of Abruzzo. The terrain moves from imposing peaks to rolling foothills and then gentle slopes as you approach the shimmering Adriatic sea. Here, centring on the small town of Tollo …

Michaela Morris is one of the first certified Italian Wine Experts through Vinitaly International Academy in 2015, who co-created the curriculum for VIA’s Italian Wine Maestro course. She holds the WSET Diploma and is the new Regional Chair for Piedmont at Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). As such, Morris was perfectly positioned, along the shore of Lake Michigan, to share …

The hilltop town of Taormina overlooking Giardini Naxos bay, facing snow-capped Mount Etna. Passengers gasp as Mount Etna comes into view. The world’s most active stratovolcano is puffing merrily as the plane circles near it before landing in Catania on Sicily’s east coast. It dominates the landscape, rising to about 3,350m, with a circumference at the base of about 150km, …

Prosecco DOC is Italy’s leading wine denomination in terms of both volume and value, producing more than 616 million bottles in 2023, according to annual data from the Prosecco DOC consorzio. And as its popularity continues to soar, quality remains impressively consistent. This year’s Decanter World Wine Awards saw a total of 75 Bronze and Silver medals in all awarded to …

Charles Carron Brown has worked in the restaurant trade for 14 years, at the Ritz London, among others. He joined the Simon Rogan group in 2015, and while there has spent time at Michelin three-star L’Enclume and Henrock in the Lake District, the group’s Hong Kong restaurants (Roganic/Aulis Hong Kong and The Baker & The Bottleman), and now Michelin one-star …

Melbourne-based glassware producer Denver & Liely, which shot to fame 10 years ago with its cult whisky glass, has added an A$200 (£105) wine glass to its collection. The hand-blown crystal vessel went through eight years of R&D before it’s November 2024 launch. In that time, the company perfected a beer glass, a gin glass, a bourbon glass and an …

The rocks are snow white. You can crumble them in your hands. The only other place I have come across these is Champagne. But I am on the other side of the world, in Waikari, North Canterbury, on the former lime quarry that is Bell Hill Vineyard. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown here are exceptional. Long-lived, only opening up …

Entering its 22nd year, Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) remains the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, consistently delivering significant return on investment for its entrants—whether through boosted brand recognition, increased sales or expanded distribution in new markets. DWWA’s unmatched reputation is built on its rigorous judging process, overseen by world-class experts whose evaluations uphold the competition’s credibility and …