Armenian Wines

An updated taste of Armenian wines

by  |  16-02-2018

Just over a year ago I was invited to visit and explore all that is Armenia wine. A great and typically exhausting trip, I wrote a summary of the wines tasted and wineries visited if... more »

Decanter goes “premium”–and fully online

by  |  20-11-2017

Decanter “Premium”. I hadn’t really thought much about it until Richard Hemming made mention of it on his site. You see, Decanter.com has introduced a new “Premium” option which is in essence, a paywall making... more »

The Creation of Priorat Singulars

by  |  17-11-2017

In Barcelona, Spain on November 27th, a new association of wine producers from the DOQ Priorat appellation in Catalonia officially presented of their new group and concluded with a tasting that included current releases as... more »

Lady strangler news, Escanyavella 2015

by  |  18-10-2017

There exists an old grape in DOQ Priorat that sits in something of a legal limbo called, Escanyavella. Essentially it means “old lady choker” or “strangler” depending on how poetic you might want to be... more »

Napa’s newest wine bar, Compline, opens

by  |  02-10-2017

It’s something like 15 years now since I was working full time for a Napa Valley winery and back then, I was lucky enough to based in San Francisco for most my work. I say... more »

And the Paratges of Cava arrive

by  |  17-08-2017

It is not unjust to say that Spain’s sparkling wine, Cava, is the antithesis of “terroir”. While 90% of this Iberian bubbly comes from within the limits of the Penedès counties in Catalunya, there are... more »

In The Glass: Kiridžija – Dingač 2013

by  |  01-08-2017

I have more than a soft spot when it comes to the wines of Vedran Kiridžija. It was exactly a decade ago that I visited him for the first time when researching the Dalmatia book... more »

Tasting Kosovo wines: Stone Castle & Bodrumi i Vjetër – Cabernet Sauvignon

by  |  22-07-2017

If asked where Kosovo is, I’ve encountered many people who say that it’s the capital of Bosnia Herzegovina. Thus, to say that this breakaway republic, recognized by 111 of the UN’s 193 countries, is a... more »
Photo from DO Montilla-Moriles

The 2017 harvest begins

by  |  19-07-2017

And with the most southern reaches of Spain we come to the first grapes to be harvested in all of Europe for the 2017 vintage. In this case, we cast an eye to DO Montilla-Moriles... more »

The list of the first qualified Cava de Paratge vineyards & their wines

by  |  14-07-2017

For some time there has been a lot of information floating around about the forthcoming Cava de Paratge (Spanish: Cava de Paraje) qualification for specific vineyards and parcels within the boundaries of DO Cava. If... more »