Books & Reviews Archives - Circle of Wine Writers

The Wines of Great Britain by Stephen Skelton MW: A review

Posted on September 9, 2019September 11, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Stephen Skelton MW is without doubt an authoritative writer on the subject of Great Britain's vineyards, not only as a highly regarded expert on viticulture (his book Viticulture: An Introduction to Commercial Grape Growing for Wine Production is the viticulture bible for diploma and MW students) but he’s also been a keen observer and participant in British wine for over 40 years. Havi...

Wink Lorch releases Wines of the French Alps book

Posted on September 8, 2019September 11, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Wink Lorch has released her second book, Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and beyond, which she self-published at the end of July under the imprint Wine Travel Media. Wink had advance funding from 450 backers of the Kickstarter campaign she ran in 2017. She notes that backers were extremely supportive when she had to put back publication several times due to the illness and subsequent de...

The wines of Chablis & the Grand Auxerrois by Rosemary George MW

Posted on July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

This August marks the centenary of the legislation laying down the first principles of appellation d’origine contrôlée. Since 1919 the wine growers of Chablis have had legal rights to use the name. But Chablis is a complex region and many arguments regarding the appellation’s strict definition ensued – which villages could use the name, was it essential that wines were made exclusively from Chardo...

Paul Strang’s Languedoc-Roussillon book awarded at Gourmand

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Congratulations to Paul Strang for his recent recognition at the Gourmand Awards, where his book Languedoc Roussillon: The Wines and Winemakers was recognised as 'best in the world' in the category for books on French wine.

Book review – Amber Revolution: How the world learned to love orange wine

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Everyone remembers the first time they tried orange wine. It’s a revelation for most wine drinkers, who are typically used to just three colours of wine – white, pink and red. Some of us go on to hunt down many more orange wines in our vinous futures, and others adamantly avoid ever repeating the experience. For Simon Woolf, that magic moment came in a cellar in Trieste in 2011. A moment on the ...

Atypical ageing slips under the radar

Posted on February 4, 2019February 7, 2019 by Keith Grainger

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The Chinese Wine Renaissance: A wine lover’s companion

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Amanda Barnes

Amanda Barnes reviews Janet Z Wang's new book The Chinese Wine Renaissance: A Wine Lover's Companion. Chinese wine still feels like a relatively 'new' phenomena in the wine world, but Janet Z Wang is out to set the record straight. Wang makes it very clear within the first few pages of her book that wine is very much part of the culture of Ancient China, and spends the following chapters detail...

The Telegram to Stalin: a political memoir of my life in three Germanys by Jochen Erler

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by Johen Erler

Janet Z Wang launches The Chinese Wine Renaissance

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Janet Z Wang

Review: The Three Drinkers Do Scotch

Posted on December 6, 2018December 9, 2018 by Mike Turner

Mike Turner reviews a new web series by three of members of the Circle - Colin Hampden-White, Helena Nicklin and Adrian Smith - and finds fun, friendship and whisky-related capers. The Circle of Wine Writers has some of the famous faces of the wine trade on their roster. It was a genuinely proud moment when I was accepted to the Circle for what I considered to be my meagre, poorly spelt rantings ...