Features

The wines of Collioure & Banyuls 2026

by  |  15-09-2026

One of the highlights in my wine reporting calendar is to visit and taste the wines of Collioure, Banyuls, and the greater Côte Vermeille. This year, it’s a large batch with over 110 wines reviewed... more »

The broad view for Wines of Portugal

by  |  11-09-2026

The first part of my trip to Porto for Alive Taste this summer was, to put it mildly, mind-blowingly hot–and this is from someone who lives on the Mediterranean side of the Iberian Peninsula. Thankfully,... more »

Of Substack & wine

by  |  08-09-2026

To borrow Ernest Hemingway’s observation on going bankrupt, wine writing on Substack started gradually and then happened all at once. It’s no secret that classic wine media has been in a decline in terms of... more »

Reinventing the wine

by  |  01-09-2026

Unlike most other alcohols, selling wine over the last half century has required not just branding, but a narrative, and despite being very aware of this, wine has never actually managed to fully control its... more »

The wines of DOQ Priorat & DO Montsant 2026

by  |  30-07-2026

With what appears to be the earliest harvest on record just about everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to take a look at two of the leading regions in Spain, DOQ Priorat and DO... more »

The wines of Rioja 2026

by  |  16-07-2026

The Rioja wine region is a mighty, impressive ship. It seems to have the ability to weather most any storm. But, despite its might, will the current downward trends in wine drinking, especially reds, prove... more »

The Holy Trinity

by  |  14-07-2026

While on a trip to Porto and the Douro recently, a colleague and I started talking about “field blends” and I admitted that I find the mystique given to them to be a bit, how... more »

The wines of Languedoc 2026

by  |  30-06-2026

Even without the Roussillon bit tacked on to the end, the French region of Languedoc is an enormous producer of wine. Within Europe, it comes in at second place, with Castilla-La Mancha at number one,... more »

ASI Vote on the return of Russian sommeliers raises questions

by  |  16-06-2026

In late May, the ASI General Assembly was held in Taipei, Taiwan. Among the organizational issues discussed by the presidents of the national associations belonging to ASI, a motion to reinstate Russian sommeliers was unexpectedly... more »

The wines of Corpinnat 2026

by  |  28-05-2026

At this moment in 2026, the Corpinnat sparkling wine association has taken what is perhaps its most crucial leap since being founded in 2015. Accompanying this report is the large Tasting Report which is by... more »