Highlights

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Posted on by Robert Smyth

The long and winding wine road: Wines of the Loire Valley by Beverley Blanning MW

Posted on by Robert Smyth
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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The Circle in Cyprus 2.0

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
This month our edition is dedicated to the Circle’s trip to Cyprus, which took place in late April 2025, following fairly hot on the heels from last year’s February visit to this exciting Mediterranean wine island. We hand over to members to report on their highlights of the trip, which took in an entirely different set of wineries to the 2024 tour. ... After describing the delightfully dramatic...
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From the Chair: Are we trying too hard to explain wine?

Posted on by Meg Maker
Circle Chair Meg Maker questions the role of the reader in wine writing, and in doing so, reflects on the purpose of the writing itself. I recently published a long memoiristic essay about a press trip I’d taken in Northern Italy. A fellow wine journalist posted a comment asking, “Who’s the reader?” It’s a valid question. Whenever we sit down to write an article, we should consider our reader, a...
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A first-timer’s wild ride at ProWein

Posted on by Robert Smyth
After years of hearing the buzz, Robert Smyth finally made it to what until recently has been the wine world’s biggest playground: ProWein. Armed with a notebook in one hand and a tasting glass in the other, he dove headfirst into the chaos, the chatter, and the clinking glasses of Düsseldorf. The air was thick with excitement and foreboding, what with talk of impending US tariff hikes, as other ...
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Members’ insights: Navigating the trade war

Posted on by Amanda Barnes
Circle members share their perspectives on how wine writers and communicators should respond to the current trade war, and what the future might hold. These interviews are part of Meg Maker's 'Navigating the trade war – a communicator’s role From the Chair: Navigating the trade war – a communicator’s role' feature.   Sunny Hodge (UK) In the short term, Hodge anticipates wine communicator...
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From the Chair: How should wine writers respond to a global trade war?

Posted on by Meg Maker
Circle Chair Meg Maker reached out to members and others for insights about how wine and spirits communicators should address the current moment. What is the role and future of wine writing given this moment of global economic uncertainty? At the extreme, the flow of wine will slow, prices will rise, wine consumption will drop, and wine consumer demographics will shift. Wine communication will sh...
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Nebbiolo, Dialect, and Dinner: Notes from Alba

Posted on by Meg Maker
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.
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From two sides of the river

Posted on by Beverley Blanning MW
In this extract from Beverley Blanning MW’s Wines of the Loire Valley, published by The Classic Wine Library, Beverly intricately introduces the subtle and not so subtle differences between Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. Sancerre: easy to say, easy to understand, easy to drink and, it seems, easy to sell. These crisp and vibrant white wines are the Loire’s most reliable calling card worldwide and by ...
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How Bureaucracy Can Thwart the Future of Climate-Resistant Wine

Posted on by Liz Sagues
Liz Sagues recaps a fascinating talk with Olivier Bourdet-Pees of Plaimont Producteurs — and the surprising turn the conversation took when bureaucracy entered the frame. What was already a fascinating and highly relevant session on ampelography on 18th March was suddenly galvanised, demonstrating just how effective the Circle’s Let’s Talk About… online discussions can be. Before the Q&A...
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From the Chair: To become a taste expert, move from specific to holistic

Posted on by Meg Maker
Circle Chair Meg Maker takes notes from a recent research paper and explores why narrative and imagery might make more of an impact in wine tasting than facts and figures. Wine enthusiasts who want to become better tasters should abandon their keyboards and pick up their crayons. That’s the conclusion of researchers Kathryn Latour and John Deighton in their 2018 Harvard Business School Working Pa...
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