Stefan Neumann MS is Regional Chair for Austria and Switzerland at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025. Stefan Neumann MS, DWWA Regional ChairStefan Neumann MS Stefan Neumann MS is the newly appointed Regional Chair for Austria at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025, complementing his ongoing role as Regional Chair for the Switzerland. Stefan has spent the majority of …
Read More »DWWA Regional Chair for Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Caucasus Region: Simon J Woolf
Simon J Woolf is the joint Regional Chair for Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Caucasus Region at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025. Simon J Woolf, DWWA Regional ChairSimon J Woolf Simon J Woolf is an award-winning English author and wine writer, currently based in The Netherlands. An acknowledged expert on the subject of natural wine, he’s written …
Read More »DWWA Regional Chair for Germany and South & Eastern Mediterranean: Caro Maurer MW
Caro Maurer MW is Regional Chair for the Germany and Southern & Eastern Mediterranean at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025. Caro Maurer MW, DWWA Regional ChairCaro Maurer MW Caro Maurer MW is the newly appointed Regional Chair for Germany at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025, complementing her ongoing role as Regional Chair for the Southern & Eastern Mediterranean. …
Read More »DWWA Regional Chair for Southern Italy : Anthony Rose
Anthony Rose is the Regional Chair for Southern Italy at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025. Anthony Rose, DWWA Regional ChairAnthony Rose Anthony Rose is a wine and sake critic who currently contributes to a number of titles including Decanter, The World of Fine Wine, The Real Review and The Oxford Companion to Wine. He was also the wine …
Read More »DWWA Regional Chair for the Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Croatia & Slovenia: Dr Wojciech Bo?kowski MW
Dr Wojciech Bo?kowski MW is the new Joint Regional Chair for the Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Croatia & Slovenia at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025. Dr Wojciech Bon?kowski MW, DWWA Regional ChairDr Wojciech Bo?kowski MW Dr Wojciech Bo?kowski MW, a wine writer & consultant from Poland, is the joint Regional Chair at the Decanter World Wine …
Read More »China producer profile: Chateau Afip – Miyun, Beijing
From the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit to the recent 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Afip wines are said to have been served on 55 occasions to domestic and international dignitaries, including former US President Barack Obama and former British Prime Minister David Cameron. Completed in 2007, the Afip estate was built next to the Miyun Reservoir. …
Read More »China producer profile: Silver Heights – Helan, Ningxia
Although impressed by the unconventional approach, Gao, who trained in Bordeaux and worked at Cha?teau Calon-Se?gur (where she met her husband, Thierry Courtade), wasn’t entirely convinced. But, eight years later, that visit was to become an inspiration. In 2017 Emma herniated a lumbar disc and, at one point, feared she might have to spend the rest of her life in …
Read More »China producer profile: Tiansai Vineyards – Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang
The area’s vast natural beauty inspired this photography and wine enthusiast to start a life-long project here. In 2010, she launched her winery, named after the Tessar photographic lens, along the trails of the ancient Silk Road, not far from Bositeng Lake, China’s largest inland freshwater lake. Starting from barren desert wastelands Tiansai now farms 187ha of vineyards, its solid …
Read More »China producer profile: Golden Icewine Valley – Huanren, Liaoning
In 2006, Changyu built its own estate and named it Golden Icewine Valley – a nod to its ambition to make ‘drops of gold’, or premium-quality ice wines, from this cold continental region. Sourcing its Vidal grapes from 333 hectares of vineyards near Huanlong Lake and at the foothills of Wunü Mountain at 41°N latitude, Golden Icewine Valley benefits from …
Read More »China producer profile: Silk Road Winery – Yili River Valley, Xinjiang
Sandwiched between two branches of the Tian Shan mountain range that merge towards the east, the enclosed Yili River valley traps the last remnants of warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean, nurturing lavender fields and fruits amid a vast expanse of steppe. In 2002, Ürümqi-based viticulturist and investor LI Yong, who had cultivated vineyards in the Junggar Basin in …
Read More »China producer profile: Sanhe (Cailonglin) Winery – Huanren, Liaoning
Intrigued by Huanren’s potential, and having always wanted to launch a sustainable enterprise that future generations could build upon, Longlin established Sanhe Winery in 2012. He soon put aside his other business interests to focus on ice wine. Longlin sources Vidal grapes from 70 hectares of vineyards within a 500-metre radius of Huanlong Lake. He picks only after the temperature …
Read More »China producer profile: Xige Estate – Qingtongxia, Ningxia
The project began in 2017 when wine merchant ZHANG Yanzhi (pictured) purchased 1,000 hectares of old vines in Ningxia’s Qingtongxia subregion, south of Yinchuan. Now 27 years old, these vines are considered old by Ningxia standards; the region only started planting commercial vineyards in the 1990s. ZHANG Yanzhi, owner of Xige Estate, Ningxia In 2019, Xige’s state-of-the-art winery was completed, …
Read More »China producer profile: Lansai Winery – Yinchuan, Ningxia
In the 1990s, their parents were among the pioneers who planted grapevines on a massive scale in the Qingtongxia wastelands further south. Despite the challenges, the siblings were determined to inherit their parents’ winemaking venture and build a family estate. While many producers in the young wine region opt for Western castle- style designs for their wineries, Lansai’s owners chose …
Read More »China producer profile: Devo Winery – Helan, Ningxia
The nearby reservoir and stony hill (formed from large rocks excavated to create the pond) serve as a weekend retreat for friends and his young family. While running a successful construction business, Liang launched his traditional-method, zero-dosage sparkling wine project in 2012, driven by a passion for Champagne. Close to the 1,200-metre contour line high on the Helan Mountain foothills, …
Read More »China producer profile: Helan Qingxue – Yinchuan, Ningxia
In 2011, its Grand Reserve Jia Bei Lan 2009 won a top award at the Decanter World Wine Awards – an unprecedented achievement for a Chinese wine, drawing domestic and global attention to Ningxia’s quality potential. Behind the success was a local team. Ningxia-born winemaker Zhang Jing began her journey in wine in her late 20s when she left a …
Read More »China producer profile: Copower Jade – Yongning, Ningxia
Copower Jade’s co-owners, entrepreneurs JIAO Xuding and Lily Zhang (pictured below), said their wine journey began with a visit to a friend’s family château in Bordeaux. That French lifestyle sparked their dream of purchasing a winery. In 2012, an opportunity brought them to China’s then-emerging wine region of Ningxia – also Xuding’s homeland – where many new estates were taking …
Read More »China producer profile: Grace Vineyard – Shanxi and Ningxia
In the 1980s, while running a coal trading business in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, Chun-Keung Chan was concerned about the pollution caused by the mining industry. Seeking a more eco-friendly venture in which he could involve the whole family, he decided to invest in a boutique winery in Shanxi, just like those he had seen in the wine villages …
Read More »China producer profile: Chateau Tinlot – Yantai, Shandong
The honour recognises the contributions Tinlot made in acknowledging the winemaking potential of Yantai during his visit in 1987, at the dawn of China’s modern wine industry. Changyu began constructing the grand Gothic-style winery in 2013, with the ambition of establishing a facility that produces wines with outstanding ageing potential. The estate now boasts 66.7 hectares of sandy vineyards and …
Read More »China producer profile: Longyu Estate – Yinchuan, Ningxia
Long Yu, in Chinese, is roughly translated as ‘dragon’s decree’, hinting at the quality ambitions of the 18-year- old estate. It now sources grapes from 373 hectares of vineyards, selected from 27 plots in the Yinchuan and Qingtongxia subregions at the foothills of Helan Mountain East. Benefiting from Ningxia’s arid continental climate and abundant sunshine, the estate boasts a Cabernet …
Read More »DWWA Regional Chair for Burgundy & Champagne: Charles Curtis MW
Charles Curtis MW is the Regional Chair for Burgundy and Champagne at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Charles Curtis MW, DWWA Regional ChairCharles Curtis MW Charles Curtis MW is a veteran of more than 20 years in the wine trade and has held a variety of posts over this time. His professional career began as a chef, trained …
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