Getting to grips with Georgian wine

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Michèle Shah

Michèle Shah climbs the Caucuses, then rocks the cradle of wine, counts the Qvevri and comes back with the oldest winemaking place of all very much on her mind. Georgia is often called an emerging wine region, but it’s only emerging in our consciousness. It is, in fact, ‘the cradle of wine’, with the oldest viticultural tradition in the world. It’s not surprising that some of the world’s oldest a...

A new perspective on Prosecco from Asolo DOCG

Posted on November 27, 2022November 29, 2022 by Janet Z Wang

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).

Wines of the lake and the mountains

Posted on October 23, 2022November 27, 2022 by Keith Grainger

Keith Grainger zones in on beautiful Bardolino, with its myriad of soil types and mesoclimates, charting the key and ever-increasing role played by the classy Corvina in its well-known red blend. He also sips saline, crispy Chiarettos. Let me begin this article at the bottom. I well remember the nadir of the wines of the Veneto and other northern Italian regions. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the...

The benefit of going Pro on Wine-Searcher

Posted on October 23, 2022October 25, 2022 by Wink Lorch

Wink Lorch explores the benefit of one of The Circle's Benefits — a complimentary Pro subscription to Wine-Searcher. She delves into all the reasons why this 23-year-old platform offers more than first meets the eye and can be a useful tool for wine communicators. As I write, Wine-Searcher, which was established in 1999 in London by Martin Brown (also designer of a pioneering website for Berry Br...

Reviving Carema with hiking boots, heart, and grit

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Marisa Finetti

Marisa Finetti is not only blown around, but also blown away by Nebbiolo from the Alpine foothills in the northern part of Piedmont, and the incredible effort and unswerving dedication taken to grow it. The wind snapped my umbrella inside out. The impression of Carema while standing on the edge of the dramatic hillside on this blustery day was quickly leaning toward sheer intensity. Fede...

Saving and savouring South Africa’s veteran Vitis vinifera

Posted on September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 by Michèle Shah

During judging at the Michelangelo Awards competition, Michèle Shah took time out to visit to the Old Vine Project in Stellenbosch, where she witnessed the wonderful work of André Morgenthal and Rosa Kruger. Being based in Stellenbosch on my recent visit, the traditional heart of the South African wine industry, presented a great opportunity to meet up with André Morgenthal and Rosa Kruger, who s...

Amarone and the opera

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Filippo Magnani

Filippo Magnani finds the famous wine of Valpolicella, made in a more refined contemporary style, goes together splendidly with a spot of Verdi, even in the summer season. The body and intensity of Amarone is traditionally associated with winter, wonderful if enjoyed in front of a warm, cosy fireplace. In fact, the anteprime dedicated to Amarone della Valpolicella has always been held in the earl...

Discovering gold in a silver mine

Posted on August 22, 2022August 26, 2022 by Keith Grainger

Keith Grainger gets in some great Gewürztraminer, which is grown up high in the extreme north of Italy’s Alto Adige region, and aged within a mountain. He is joined by four other Circle members as part as a wider press trip. In the very north of Italy’s Alto Adige region (also known as Südtirol), an old silver mine can be found. No mining has taken place here for 50 years, but today deep undergro...

Recognising the human factor in Sherry and Montilla

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Yolanda Ortiz de Arri

CWW President Rosemary George has been made a Chevalier of the Ordre du Mérite

Posted on July 11, 2022August 1, 2022 by Sue Eames

Sue Eames shares the news of Rosemary George MW being made a Chevalier of the Ordre du Mérite. We are very proud to share the news that the CWW President, Rosemary George MW, has been made a Chevalier of the Ordre du Mérite for her services to agriculture by the French Government. As Rosemary herself says, this is thanks to her writing about French wine for 40 years. The award will be formally pr...