Chatting with: Ben Walgate, the qvevri-crazed English natural winemaker

by blog on October 20, 2017

Ben Walgate is currently making natural wines in Georgian qvevri on his farm in East Sussex. We ask him about his journey to the amber side and what the future holds for him and for English wine. Tell us a bit about yourself and your background in wine? I grew up on a farm on […]

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Doug Decants: Rabasco Wines, Abruzzo

by blog on October 16, 2017

The Not-so-Full Montes   Iole Rabasco inherited her family’s small vineyard and olive grove, neither of which have ever been treated with chemicals. And she’s taken that blessing and run with it. Her property is nestled in north-central Abruzzo where you have unique meso-and micro-climates, the 3.5 hectares are located more precisely in the village of Pianella, […]

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Another Rare Creature: Ribeyrenc

October 13, 2017

Our spare Ribeyrenc   Ribeyrenc, also Rybeyrenc, though grape encyclopaediae will have it under the more prosaic-sounding Aspiran noir), is a variety that was traditionally grown between Minervois and Clermont l’Hérault, but it all but died out with phylloxera and the big frost of 1956. All was not lost, however, as Thierry Navarre’s grandfather had […]

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Revisiting Taste, Tasters and Tastings

October 10, 2017

Looking at the glass-twitchers, sniffers and slurpers at one of our recent shindigs made me think that tasting is as much about mood as anything. The more generic the tasting the more you will be seeking correctness and typicity and points of reference in the wines on display; a small-grower-predominantly-natural-wine tasting, conversely, compels one to […]

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Thirsty for Hungary

October 5, 2017

When you are in a country for a very short period you barely have time to get your bearings let alone taste enough wine to come up with a qualified opinion about the state of play of an entire wine culture, However, on the evidence of limited tasting and discussions with growers and one considerable […]

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Doug Decants: Minimus Origin Gouges Zivo Vineyard 2016

September 29, 2017

This is Chad Stock’s second foray into Pinot Noir Blanc territory. Yes, a red grape mutated into a white with partial skin contact. Go figure! Zivo is the name of the vineyard located in the maritime-influenced Eola Hills AVA, the grape is 100% Pinot Gouges, the mutation of Pinot Noir that occurred at Domaine Henri […]

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Les Caves at The Great Sherry Tasting

September 25, 2017

The Great Sherry Tasting returned to London this month, a chance for us to mug up on our soleras and criaderas, and plunge quizzical beaks into copitas of Palo Cortados and Amontillados. The one thing you realise after researching and subsequent tasting is that while textbooks may describe a one-size-fits-all sherry making process, each bodega […]

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Chatting with: Wine Writer Simon J Woolf

September 21, 2017

Award winning writer, natural wine expert and Decanter contributor Simon J Woolf today announced the launch of his first book Amber Revolution. Subtitled “How the world learned to love orange wine”, Woolf describes the book as “The rags to riches story of the world’s oldest and most unique wine style, as gripping as a good […]

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Doug decants: Forlorn Hope

September 18, 2017

2015 Gemischter Satz by Forlorn Hope We love a crazily fearless blend and this wine is the mashiest of Austro-Germanic mash-ups. Matthew Rorick writes of his Forlorn Hope project: ‘The Forlorn Hope wines were born to connect the thread between California’s boundless viticultural potential and its diverse viticultural history. In addition to the vines my […]

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We’ve got a not-so-little-list

September 18, 2017

“The list is the origin of culture. It’s part of the history of art and literature. What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. It also wants to create order.” Umberto Eco As some day it may happen that a vigneron must be found, I’ve got a little list — I’ve got a little list […]

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