Highlights Archives - Page 12 of 27 - Circle of Wine Writers

Book Review: Foot Trodden: Portugal and the wines that time forgot by Simon J Woolf and Ryan Opaz

Posted on October 20, 2021October 22, 2021 by Amanda Barnes

Simon J Woolf and Ryan Opaz both hold Portugal as dear to their hearts: a wine country that has captivated both of them over the years and so much so in Ryan’s case that he and his family moved there in 2013. Foot Trodden: Portugal and the wines that time forgot isn’t just their account of the lesser-known wines of Portugal, but very much a foray into the personalities of the Portuguese wine world...

Meet the Member: Elizabeth Gabay MW

Posted on September 11, 2021September 13, 2021 by Amanda Barnes

Elizabeth Gabay MW is one of the leading authorities on rosé wines and author of Rosé: Understanding the pink wine revolution. In this interview, she explains why the pink world of wine is a hub of creativity, why she might start tasting using black glasses from now on, and reveals that she is now making her own rosé wine... in Slovakia! What is your earliest memory in wine? It's difficult ...

Meet the Friend: François Chartier, Tanaka 1789

Posted on September 11, 2021September 13, 2021 by Amanda Barnes

François Chartier’s whole career is a true tour de force. Starting out in the wine world as a waiter in his early 20s, he has gone on to become one of the world’s most respected sommeliers. He is an award-winning author of 27 books of wine and flavours, and is a sought-after advisor on wine, beer, chocolate, fragrances and AI with Sony's new gastronomy project. One of his most recent adventures ha...

A year on: How the wine world is coping with coronavirus

Posted on August 20, 2021August 21, 2021 by Amanda Barnes

It’s been 18 months since the Covid-19 pandemic took its grip on the world and changed life as we know it. In April last year, we asked members from around the world to tell us what was happening in their country, and this month we’ve done the same. EUROPE Italy Michèle Shah reports on how Italy and its wine industry is coping with Covid, which wreaked havoc on the Mediterranean count...

Re-romancing Cabernet Franc

Posted on July 23, 2021July 25, 2021 by Richard Lane

Friend of the Circle, Richard Lane rekindles an old flame in the form of the elusive, enigmatic and less widespread Cab, and may not be that much the wiser, but is more than happy to go back. It was around 15 years ago when I first fell in love with Cabernet Franc. All I recall is the name Chinon, and the wine’s haunting aromas of violets, pencil shavings and succulent red and black fruit, beaut...

Felicity Carter tackles Clean Wine in the Circle’s “Let’s Talk About” webinar

Posted on July 23, 2021July 23, 2021 by Meg Houston Maker

Meg Houston Maker reports on the implications of this new commercial ‘cleaner than thou’ vinous phenomenon, as sketched out by the wine journalist and editor, who sees it as possibly being hugely harmful and offers a wake-up call for the wine industry. Felicity Carter’s been writing about wine for 20 years. “In all of that time,” she says, “I haven’t seen anything as potentially damaging and dan...

CWW virtual tasting: Let’s taste… JING Tea

Posted on June 19, 2021June 22, 2021 by Janet Z Wang

Janet Wang on the CWW May virtual tea tasting and reflections on why wine writers should know more about tea! I love the diverse range of topics discussed in the various CWW forums, so when the latest ‘Let’s taste…’ series offered a chance to try fine teas from the specialist house of Jing, I was surprised and delighted. It was straight into the diary in permanent ink. When the tasting set arri...

Mornington Peninsula not a million miles away from home

Posted on June 12, 2021July 4, 2021 by Liz Sagues

Liz Sagues reports on the first of the Circle's May 2021 Let's talk about... webinars, presented by Kate McIntyre, marketing and business development manager at Moorooduc Estate. Time and again, as Kate McIntyre described viticulture and winemaking on the Mornington Peninsula, I thought: I've heard this before, but from somewhere far across the world from Australia. The story of that cool, windy,...

The fatal spring 2021 frost in France

Posted on May 12, 2021May 15, 2021 by LM Archer

From Burgundy to Southern France, vine growers are grappling with the catastrophe of precocious budding cut short by sub-zero temperatures from April 5-8, reports L.M. Archer. “C’est reparti (Here we go again),” posted Véronique Drouhin-Boss on Instagram April 5 Her image, of a hazy night sky punctuated by hundreds of smudge pots flickering amidst frozen vineyards, foretold the unfolding guerre d...

Meet the Friend: Donald Ziraldo

Posted on May 12, 2021May 15, 2021 by Amanda Barnes

Donald Ziraldo needs no introduction to most wine writers around the world as one of the most influential figures in Canadian wine. After starting his career with a vine nursery, he became involved in winemaking with the founding of Inniskillin in 1974, remaining there until 2006, and later moved on to create his own independent label Ziraldo, planting his own vineyard in 2007. As a Friend of the ...