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The Mythology of Etna
Review of Champagne: A Global History, 2nd Edition
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Doing the wine math: Review of Grape Explications by Neal D. Hulkower
Sunny Hodge reviews a kind of ‘best of’ Neal D. Hulkower, whose works span a vast range of vinous topics, incorporating his expert application of the world of mathematics to that of the vine.
For those of you not yet familiar with Hulkower’s writing, he has been a prudent book reviewer, essayist, wine journalist and efficacious tasting-note-taker since his fixation with wine first took grip in 19...
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Expected and unexpected: The Wines of California by Elaine Chukan Brown
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...
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The long and winding wine road: Wines of the Loire Valley by Beverley Blanning MW
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...
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From Bordeaux to Beijing, witnessing bombing raids on Pauillac to involvement in early informatique – the story of a life well lived
Jane Anson marvels at the memoir of Bordeaux legend Jean-Michel Cazes, From Bordeaux to the Stars: The Reawakening of a Wine Legend, which she translated into English, with this piece written before his passing in June.
One of the most dog-eared books on my shelves is a two-volume, closely typed history of the Médoc vineyards from the Middle Ages to the mid-20th century. Written by French geograp...
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Rioja through its wine labels
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Anne Krebiehl MW tours the world through the lens of Pinot Noir
Markus Hungerbühler reviews Pinot Noir Around the World by Anne Krebiehl MW, a new monograph produced by the IWFS.
The International Wine & Food Society (IWFS), founded in London in 1933 and with approx 6000 members around the world, aims to bring people together to be enriched by food, wine and good company. The IWFS also publishes Monographs, providing authoritative coverage of topics of ge...
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Delving into the different vinous chapters of Klein Constantia
Amanda Barnes takes a taste and read through Klein Constantia: The home of Vin de Constance.
Books are always better when they’re enjoyed with wine — especially when they’re wine books. Even more so when you can drink the very wine described in the book — and so was my experience with the latest release from John Stimpfig’s First Press Editions’ Klein Constantia: The home of Vin de Constance. The...
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Eli Ben-Zaken, the pioneer who built an Israeli icon
Adam S. Montefiore reflects on the extraordinary life of Israeli vigneron Eli Ben-Zaken in this short extract from his recently published biography on Domaine du Castel.
I picture Eli Ben-Zaken in the summer of 2021, standing on his own outside his house and winery at Ramat Razi’el as he defiantly fought against the fierce wildfires in the hills and forests that rise towards Jerusalem. The flame...
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