Features Archives - Circle of Wine Writers

From the Chair: What’s in a name?

Posted on August 28, 2024August 30, 2024 by Meg Maker

Circle Chair Meg Maker explores the extremely diverse composition of the Circle of Wine Writers' membership base, which has reached far beyond the realms of both wine and writing, as well as geographically, from its initial UK base. In 1960, journalist, social historian, and wine commentator Cyril Ray convened a handful of British wine writing colleagues to form a new association. At the time, t...

Meet the Member: Kevin Day

Posted on August 28, 2024August 30, 2024 by Amanda Barnes

Kevin Day has been blogging about and photographing wine for over decade and has found a niche in writing about the wines of Italy and France via his online magazine, Opening a Bottle. In this interview, Amanda Barnes finds out why Kevin is concerned about the impact of AI on wine writing and learns about some of his favourite vinous gems from Italy, including Schioppettino and the white blend...

Quality perception concerns from the Cape

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Michael Fridjhon

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Switzerland surprises with staggering assortment of grapes

Posted on August 28, 2024August 30, 2024 by Sue Eames

Sue Eames discovers that the Swiss wine scene isn’t solely about Chasselas, far from it in fact, and is spoilt for choice with a plethora of exciting indigenous varieties, crossings and PIWIs, to choose from. Judging in any wine region is always a great opportunity to visit local wineries and explore the latest trends, and our trip to Le Mondial du Chasselas in Aigle, Switzerland, in late May was...

Komarna breaks through

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Dijana Grgić

Dijana Grgić reports from the sun- and sea-kissed, rocky region that represents a remarkable coming together of man and machine, and is the only exclusively organic growing area in Croatia. Komarna is the youngest wine growing area in Croatia, located in an extremely rocky area, with a plethora of sunny days in the year. It was here, in the early 2000s, that machines ground down through the ston...

Tasting history

Posted on August 28, 2024August 30, 2024 by Dominic Buckwell

Dominic Buckwell raids his own cellar and pours his collection of Château-Grillet wines to a prestigious and appreciative panel, to mark the launch of Liberation Tardive, a new not-for-profit organization that seeks to ensure the market delivers available stocks of older wines. How does it feel to taste something from history? A tiny appellation in Northern Rhône, with Roman origins acclaimed by ...

Leonardslee Family Estates launch and Defined Wine tasting

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Liz Sagues

Liz Sagues tells the rags-to-riches tale of Penny Streeter, whose English venture has just released its first wines, and catches up with a contract winemaking company and some of its clients. The story is a PR dream: rags-to-riches South Africa-based woman entrepreneur buys crumbling English country house with totally neglected Grade I-listed gardens, plus nearby golf course with hotel, spends h...

Hybrid grapes take Taiwanese wine to the world

Posted on July 30, 2024July 31, 2024 by Leona De Pasquale

Review of Vienna’s VieVinum 2024

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Jochen Erler

From the Chair: Wine writing reimagined

Posted on July 30, 2024July 30, 2024 by Meg Maker

Circle Chair Meg Maker reflects on the changing world of wine writing in her inaugural column for The Circular. Wine and spirits writers are a creative lot. We’re cultural commentators, observers who tap into the shape-shifting zeitgeist, so we can frame the product in ways that connect. We imagine new words to meet the moment, modifying or inventing language to say what we mean. All languages...