Sicily: Beyond the Volcano

Robin Goldsmith explores the Grillo and Nero d'Avola wines of Sicily, beyond the famed volanic region of Etna, while visiting Sicilia En Primeur. A shorter version of this article was originally published by Académie du Vin and the full version is available on The Write Taste.   Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, covering over 25,000km2.  Most of the island is hilly or mount...
Read More

From the Chair: “Where should I start?”

Circle Chair Meg Maker asks perhaps the most important questions that we all face as a wine writer... Where should I start? I ended my last column with advice to budding wine writers. I said, in essence, that it’s fine but not essential to earn formal wine credentials, because if your primary motive is to share your insights with others, the most important thing is to learn to write, and to pract...
Read More

Celebrating half a century of a Canadian champion

Chuck Buyers immerses himself in the annals of Inniskillin, which this year celebrated its golden anniversary, having initially wowed many with its Vidal Icewine of that very colour, and then with plenty more. Not bad for an idea many once scoffed at. “This cannot work! What a stupid and ridiculous idea! Growing premium vines and – Vinifera to boot – in Ontario? They’ll never get it off the groun...
Read More

Beaucastel reimagined

Ruma Singh reports on the renewal of the Perrin family’s prized possession, which has literally been created from the terroir of the Rhône, with 90% of the materials coming from on-site and the mighty Mistral wind being channeled to cool the cellar.  “The future of Château de Beaucastel is inscribed in its past,” said Charles Perrin at the May 2025 inauguration of the most ambitious winery projec...
Read More

Location, location, location

Caroline Gilby MW visits five fine Slovenian producers, who are members of the Slovenska Velika Lega organisation, which seeks to convey the story of Slovenia’s most special vineyard wines via plant, place and people.  Velika Lega translates as ‘great location’ if you pop it into a translation app. It forms the name of a relatively new organisation, Slovenska Velika Lega (SVL) – a group of wine p...
Read More

From the Chair: Credentials optional

Meg Maker explores the differences between educating yourself in wine, and training yourself as a writer. I've been rummaging through older wine writing, material from 50 or 60 years ago, trying make sense of our craft’s recent history. It’s been fun. I’ve stumbled onto tasting notes from the year I was born. I’ve been reminded of great personalities, like Lalou Bize-Leroy, Becky Wasserman, and A...
Read More

From the Chair: The trap of linguistic tropes

While attending a new Pinot Noir symposium in Oxford, Meg Maker considers the trap of repeating cliches.  I’ve just returned from Oxford University, where I participated in the inaugural Pinot Noir and Identity Symposium. The event, a culmination of four years’ work by the organising committee, convened academics, independent researchers, and passionate wine advocates for three days of discussion...
Read More

A bodega to remember

Colin Harkness encounters classy, memorable kosher wines from the mountains of DO Utiel-Requena. I expect it’s largely the same with most ‘Old World’ wines, but when it comes to Spain, there’s almost always a story behind each wine and every producer. Like some grape varieties, sadly, several of these tales might have been lost in the mists of time, but some, against all odds, are enduring. And t...
Read More

Identity theft and loss in the Spanish wine world

To access this post, you must purchase Friend of the Circle (inc one-off joining fee), Corporate Friend of the Circle (inc one-off joining fee), Friend of the Circle (renewals) or Corporate Friend of the Circle (renewals), or log in.
Read More

The rising white wine wave of the southern Rhône

To access this post, you must purchase Friend of the Circle (inc one-off joining fee), Corporate Friend of the Circle (inc one-off joining fee), Friend of the Circle (renewals) or Corporate Friend of the Circle (renewals), or log in.
Read More