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Etna Wine Estate

@WineAlchemy1 has added a photo to the pool: The ancient and very original Etna Wine Estate at Castiglione di Sicilia, near Passopisciaro, on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, looking toward the Alcantara mountains in the background. Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/winealchemy1/13038105515/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Searching for the soul of Nerello Mascalese

Had I been writing 50, even 20 years ago about Nerello Mascalese – the Sicilian grape variety believed to have originated on the plain of Mascali, between Mount Etna’s eastern slope and the coast – this story would have been simple: an unfussy, high-yielding grape that ripens reliably and embraces Sicily’s oppressive heat. Its thin skin makes a bright red …

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Cellar Selection: 2015 Kirkland Signature Pauillac Bordeaux

We love doing our Cellar Selection series, where we revisit classic Kirkland bottles from years ago that we stashed away in the cellar. We’ve been sitting on some of the old, and now retired, Kirkland Pauillac Bordeaux for 6-7 years. Last year we cracked open the 2014 Kirkland Pauillac bottle, and found it to be … Source : https://costcowineblog.com/cellar-selection-2015-kirkland-signature-pauillac-bordeaux/

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Anniversary wines and vintages for 2025

To help you celebrate birthday and anniversaries with vintage flavour in 2025, I have plumbed the depths of my (less than) extensive cellar to bring liquid enlightenment for readers looking for vinous gifts. At the same time, I have drawn on the inspiration and experience of a small ‘advisory’ panel of experts and wine loving friends (mentioned below) who have …

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Vinography Images: Comte Cave

Looking like something out of a Goya etching, a light well brings a splash of sunlight into the pitch-dark chalk cave underneath the cellars of Champagne Taittinger in the city of Reims, France. The seal on the wall celebrates the house’s exceptional Comte de Champagne bottling. INSTRUCTIONS:Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting “save link as” or …

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Top 20 Txakoli: The Basque Country’s burgeoning wine diversity

Bodega Bat Gara, Lezama, with the Sierra Salvada mountains to its west. According to the DO Getariako Txakolina (in the Basque language, otherwise Txakoli de Getaria), the first bylaws of Spain’s northerly Basque province of Gipuzkoa were drawn up in 1397 to include item 18: anyone destroying the local vines could be sentenced to death. It is a pointer – …

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Emanuel Pesqueira

Emanuel Pesqueira is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) Emanuel PesqueiraEmanuel Pesqueira Emanuel Pesqueira is a highly-experienced management professional with extensive expertise in food, beverage, and hospitality services. He has held various management and Sommelier roles. These have included being the Food and Beverage Manager at The Oxford and Cambridge Club and Head Sommelier & Maître …

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Baudains: Giovanni Allegrini’s revolutionary La Poja vineyard

La Poja is a single-cru vineyard at the top of the La Grola hill in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, in the Veneto region of Italy. The romantic explanation of the origin of the name is that it derives from ‘Pojana’, a bird of the falcon family which hovers over the crown of the hill. More prosaically, it might come from the …

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Matt Walls’ Wines of the Year

Decanter’s Rhône correspondent, Matt Walls, at Château Rayas. Credit: Matt Walls What feeling does an exceptional wine create when you drink it? It’s difficult to answer, as the greatest bottles give rise to all sorts of different sensations, insights and emotions.  It makes writing a ranking of this nature tricky, as not all the wines are being measured on the …

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Rebecca Gergely Ohayon

Rebecca Gergely Ohayon is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards. Rebecca GergelyRebecca Gergely Ohayon Born in Paris, Rebecca’s career started in 2006 after graduating a Master’s degree in Economics from the Sorbonne. Before applying to jobs related to her studies, she followed her boyfriend (now husband) to California and applied for a few summer jobs including one …

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Mike Best MW

Mike Best MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWMike Best MW Mike Best MW is a wine product manager at Boutinot, working principally with wineries in Spain, Portugal, USA & England. Previously, he was employed by the WSET, working with programme providers and industry groups to grow wine education in the South-East of …

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Lauren Denyer

Lauren Denyer is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWLauren Denyer Lauren Denyer is the Diploma Events and Enrichment Manager at WSET School London, where she organises and hosts events and learning opportunities for the Diploma students. She also teaches all levels of WSET wine qualifications. She has extensive teaching experience having worked as …

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Robert Mathias MW

Robert Mathias MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWRobert Mathias MW Robert Mathias MW works as senior fine wine buyer for Bordeaux Index. Previously, he was a wine buyer at Bibendum PLB, London, where he is responsible for sourcing wine from France, Central and Eastern Europe and the Far East and managing …

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Red wine for Christmas under £15/$20

Christmas marks the time of year when marketing hype goes into overdrive, encouraging us all to part with our hard-earned cash for everything from the latest kids’ toys to wifi-enabled washing machines.. For many of us, it’s the one occasion every year we will spend above our comfort zone on a few bottles of wine. But there’s no need to …

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Wine investment: The fine wine market in 2024

Rare 19th-century Château Latour and Burgundy have lit up the auction scene in Hong Kong in recent weeks, with Château La Mission Haut-Brion starring in London. A Christie’s auction of wines sourced from estates owned by Artémis Domaines – controlled by French billionaire François Pinault – saw a bottle of Château Latour 1865 sell for HK$812,500 (£80,500), including buyer’s premium. …

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Whiskies for wine lovers at Christmas: 12 perfect bottles

Single malt is far from being the sole passion of Glenmorangie Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden. The arch experimenter (sometimes jarringly dubbed the Willy Wonka of whisky) also has a penchant for high fashion, early Alan Partridge – and fine wine. He’s equally at home discussing Sassicaia as he is Speyside. Scroll down to see our selection of 12 perfect …

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Neleman – Creativity-fuelled sustainability

‘Organic Spanish wines with a Dutch heart’ – this is how the project, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Derrick Neleman in 2014, defines itself. There is indeed an incredible sense of place in all the wines produced by the eponymous winery, while the brand’s identity is infused with creative wonder and entrepreneurial spirit – perhaps showing that it is sometimes easier …

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