Author: Becky Sue Epstein

Home / Articles posted by Amanda Barnes (Page 4)
Posted on by Becky Sue Epstein

Expected and unexpected: The Wines of California by Elaine Chukan Brown

Posted on by Becky Sue Epstein
Becky Sue Epstein reviews Elaine Chukan Brown’s acclaimed new guide, The Wines of California. You may not get exactly what you expected when you open The Wines of California, a new encyclopaedic work by well-known wine expert Elaine Chukan Brown. And that’s a good thing. Before diving into details of grapes, climate, geography, and regions, Brown begins the conversation with several centuries of...
Read More

The long and winding wine road: Wines of the Loire Valley by Beverley Blanning MW

Posted on by Robert Smyth
Robert Smyth reviews the new tome on the wines of the Loire, written by Beverley Blanning MW. The time feels right for a book on the plethora of wines that are made alongside and in the vicinity of the courses of France’s longest river. Indeed, The Wines of the Loire Valley by Beverly Blanning MW arrives at a time when this once unfashionable backwater of the wine world has once again become firm...
Read More

The Circle in Cyprus 2.0

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
This month our edition is dedicated to the Circle’s trip to Cyprus, which took place in late April 2025, following fairly hot on the heels from last year’s February visit to this exciting Mediterranean wine island. We hand over to members to report on their highlights of the trip, which took in an entirely different set of wineries to the 2024 tour. ... After describing the delightfully dramatic...
Read More

Let’s talk pink and qvevri!

Posted on by Liz Sagues
Liz Sagues reflects on May’s two Let’s Talk About... sessions which explored the ancient and the modern. On 6th May, CWW member and Georgia expert Carla Capalbo explained the 3,000-year-old tradition of Georgian qvevri wines. A fortnight later, another member, Liz Gabay MW, joined by her son Ben Bernheim and producers from Austria, Greece, and Italy, led a lively discussion on all things rosé —...
Read More

Meet the Friend: Nicolas Bates, Wine GB

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
Nicola Bates, CEO of Wine GB, shares the mission of the trade body and what we can look forward to in English Wine Week. Could you describe the mission and scope of Wine GB? WineGB is the trade association that cultivates success for the UK domestic wine industry. We represent the industry to the government, media, and trade and provide support and leadership with education, networking, advice...
Read More

New Member: Trevor Sharot

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
After university, Trevor Sharot vowed never to take any more exams. Some years later, he discovered a subject that required drinking Champagne in the exam hall! That changed everything. Trevor now runs GrapeDeal, a wine consultancy based in London, majoring on writing, photography and presentation. He gained the DipWSET, is Secretary of the Central London Wine Society and President of a Fine Wine...
Read More

New Member: Jeroen Bronkhorst

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
Jeroen Bronkhorst is founder of Wijnstudio, a WSET wine school with venues all over the Netherlands. He is a Certified Madeira Wine Educator, Certified Sherry Educator, Certified Port Educator, Cavaleiro of the Confraria do Vinho do Porto, and an Ambassador for the German VDP. In the past, Jeroen was the owner and chef of a restaurant, awarded twice for ‘Best National Wine List’. Having both a ch...
Read More

New Member: Jeff Burrows

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
Jeff Burrows writes an award-winning wine blog, Food Wine Click! He holds the WSET Diploma and is a certified educator. He is interested in organic, biodynamic, regenerative viticulture, and in hybrid grapes. Jeff resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Dijon, France.   We welcome Jeff to the Circle and look forward to sharing his news and features on The Circular!
Read More

Meet the Friend: Michele Bertuzzo, Studio Cru

Posted on by Becky Sue Epstein
Michele Bertuzzo is the CEO of Studio Cru, “a communication agency specialised in wine and high-end gastronomy” based in Vicenza, Italy. In a sentence or two, could you describe the mission and scope of your company? Studio Cru supports wineries in discovering what truly makes them unique and inimitable. We seek the most effective language to express this uniqueness and connect people around new...
Read More