Ningxia dominates the Chinese Wine Awards 2024

Annabel Jackson reports from Macau on the inaugural edition of the competition that seeks to give local winemakers critical feedback from outside experts, and around which there is a buzz. The gold medal and trophy winners at the inaugural Chinese Wine Awards 2024, held in Macau, at Wynn Palace, in March, were announced at a glossy gala dinner in the hotel’s ballroom in April.  The results are a...
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Meet the Member: Filippo Magnani

Italian member and wine communicator, Filippo Magnani reflects on 25 years of wine tourism in Tuscany in this Meet the Member interview with Amanda Barnes. Named after the Etruscan God of Wine, Fufluns, his tourism agency is a leader in the region. Inspired by the booming wine tourism industry in Napa Valley during the 1990s, Filippo Magnani recognized Italy's untapped potential and sought to ele...
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Reuse rather than recycle — the greener bottle solution

Liz Sagues summarises the learnings and challenges presented in the recent Let's talk about... webinar, featuring three members of Porto Protocol — Diana Snowden Seysses, Marta Mendonça and Muriel Chatel, and moderated by L.M. Archer.   Is it idealistic fantasy that the wine bottle you're pouring from now could, over months or years to come, be refilled again and again rather than ending up in a ...
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A pair of great Danes

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Meet the Member: Sue Eames

Based in Paris since 2001, Sue Eames has been communicating about French wine for over two decades although you will often find her judging internationally and dedicating much of her free time in helping with the Circle’s social media. Amanda Barnes interviews her about her favourite wines and regions, and discovers her tips for the perfect Kir.   What’s your earliest memory of wine? It wa...
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Prosecco: what’s in a name?

Marc Millon rediscovers the joys of the now hugely famous sparkling DOCG that hails from hills that lie between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. He encounters such complexity of terroir that different sub-zones and even single vineyards can express their own characters and personalities. I first visited the wine hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene more than 40 years ago in search of a wine I’...
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The wines of Cyprus: Circle of Wine Writers trip report 2024

This month our edition is dedicated to the Circle’s trip to Cyprus and we hand over to members to report on their highlights while exploring this Mediterranean wine island in February 2024. Christine Austin sets the scene with the first visit of the trip, sharing intriguing nuggets of information on the Cyprus wine culture and history (did you know phylloxera never arrived to the island? You will...
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Meet the Member: Paula Redes Sidore

Paula Redes Sidore is best known for her work communicating the wines of Germany although, as Amanda Barnes discovers in this interview, her journey in wine started with a few inconspicuous drops of White Zin. Paula also shares what wines and styles are enticing her at the moment, and why she decided to launch TRINK —the world's first English-language magazine focused on the ‘German-speaking wines...
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Spectacular Temecula can do good wine too

Next time you’ve got an extra couple of days in Los Angeles or San Diego, Becky Sue Epstein recommends a visit to the Southern California wine region, which she recently visited after a long absence and found the wines are a changing for the good.  If wine grapes have been grown in California’s Temecula Valley since the 1820s, why are we only hearing about it now? And what are the wines like? Tha...
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Mountain magician

Kathleen Burk meets and eats extremely well with Chris Carpenter, who crafts finely chiselled Chardonnays and reds from above the fog line in Napa, and much more, also for Jackson Family Wines, such as making wine in Walla Walla Valley and McLaren Vale.  The quality of the lunch at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill in London was a delicious bonus when I accepted an invitation to attend a lunchtime tasting...
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