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Posted on by Jochen Erler

The vinous Velvet Revolution

Posted on by Jochen Erler
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A bodega to remember

Posted on by Colin Harkness
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...
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From the land to the label

Posted on by Wendy Narby
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The rising white wine wave of the southern Rhône

Posted on by Heather Dougherty
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From the Chair: Considering criticism

Posted on by Meg Maker
This month Meg Maker examines whether a wine communicator can ever really be objectively critical.  I enjoy reading criticism of books, art, cinema, and architecture. As a writer who does some wine criticism, I find it instructive to see how critics from other domains approach the exercise. I was particularly struck by a recent New Yorker piece, an essay by Julian Lucas reflecting on the critic ...
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Let’s talk pink and qvevri!

Posted on by Liz Sagues
Liz Sagues reflects on May’s two Let’s Talk About... sessions which explored the ancient and the modern. On 6th May, CWW member and Georgia expert Carla Capalbo explained the 3,000-year-old tradition of Georgian qvevri wines. A fortnight later, another member, Liz Gabay MW, joined by her son Ben Bernheim and producers from Austria, Greece, and Italy, led a lively discussion on all things rosé —...
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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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Let’s Talk About… April’s extremely topical sessions

Posted on by Liz Sagues
Liz Sagues recaps the highly topical talks this month in the Circle's Let's Talk About... series. The second of the two April Let’s Talk About... sessions could hardly have been more topical. As Benjamin North Spencer recounted the story of the new wines of Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano rumbled and grumbled in the background, in its most explosive eruption for more than two decades. The...
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From the Chair: In praise of editors

Posted on by Meg Maker
In this month’s column, Circle Chair Meg Maker reflects on why a skilled editor is one of a writer’s most valuable collaborators — especially in today’s fast-moving world of digital media.   “Every smart person wants to be corrected, not admired.” —Marvin Minsky   I’ve recently completed two large wine media projects. The first was a series of naturalistic portraits of women who...
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From Barça to bodega and Camp Nou to DO Manchuela

Posted on by Colin Harkness
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