Category: Wine

All things vino

Interviews, Wine, Wine Writing

Santa Rita – A Clean Sweep: Producer Profile, Decanter Magazine 2018

CHANGE IS AFOOT in Alto Jahuel. First planted in 1850, the roots of Santa Rita’s historic 600ha wine estate run deep. This is a site of both viticultural heritage and cultural importance for Chile: it was once a hideout for 120 soldiers during the independence wars, and it was in this same vineyard that Carmenère was first identified, hidden away between Merlot vines, in 1994. … Continue reading Santa Rita – A Clean Sweep: Producer Profile, Decanter Magazine 2018

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Wine, Wine Writing

Cava’s new category – Cava Paraje Calificado

Following three years of paper pushing, Cava’s new, super-premium category, Cava Paraje Calificado (CPC), has been approved and will hit shelves in time for Christmas. This slimmed down Cava category presently includes 12 wines, all of which meet meticulously high standards in a bid to elevate Cava to a world-class sparkling wine category.

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Travel tales, Wine

South America’s Top 10 wine hotels

South America used to be the domain of gap year backpackers and shoestring tourism. That isn’t the case any more. There’s been a boom in luxury adventure tourism across the Southern Cone, with five-star hotels nestled into the desert plains of the Atacama and down to the waterfalls and glacier lakes of Patagonia. In the wine regions too you can experience the wilderness of the … Continue reading South America’s Top 10 wine hotels

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Wine

Exploring the future of cork closures

The multilingual vocabulary of wine can make people feel tongue-tied, but the pop of a cork transcends all language barriers. There are few other sounds in the world quite so synonymous with celebration. Whether you’re opening a fine bottle of wine, a well-aged port, or even a cheap bottle of fizz, that pop announces the party. Cork has been used as a stopper since the … Continue reading Exploring the future of cork closures

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Wine

South America’s top sommeliers share the next big thing

Written for Decanter magazine, October 2017 NOT SO LONG ago, restaurant diners in Buenos Aires and Santiago would be offered a choice of two wines – red or white – and no one could tell you much about either. But since the first sommelier school opened in 1999, the rise of the somm in South America has been hypersonic. Today you’ll find wine lists categorised … Continue reading South America’s top sommeliers share the next big thing

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Wine

Why Chile is more exciting than you think

Written for The Tasting Panel, August 2017 Chile sometimes gets pigeonholed as a safe, New World producer with good, simple wines at a fair price point. It’s not a bad rep, but it isn’t exactly riveting either. However, boasting both the oldest vines and the newest wine regions in South America, Chile is plump with diversity and spilling over with innovation. While the industry is … Continue reading Why Chile is more exciting than you think

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Wine

Argentina’s new appellations

Written for SevenFifty Daily, August 2017 The freedom of the New World, and its lack of draconian appellation rules, might be much envied by producers in the Old World, but winemakers in Argentina are seeking more rigorous legislation for its regions. As a country with a 500-year history of vinification, Argentina is by no means new at the wine game. However, until recently, Argentina’s appellations—known … Continue reading Argentina’s new appellations

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Wine, Wine Writing

Climate change: The next frontier

Some areas of Chile and Argentina are experiencing changes in the frequency and severity of weather extremes. While many winemaking regions struggle to adapt, there are some visionary producers who see it as an opportunity to explore. Amanda Barnes investigates… Decanter July 2017Decanter July 2017 THE WINE MAP is undeniably changing. The worldwide phenomenon of climate change is creating new, once-unimaginable wine regions, while at … Continue reading Climate change: The next frontier

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Wine

Argentina Harvest Report 2017

Off the back of a very wet El Niño vintage last year, it was a relief for winemakers in Argentina to return to its more characteristic dry climate. Although quality is considered high across the board, damaging spring frosts significantly reduced the quantity. ‘2017 is a fantastic harvest in terms of quality,’ said Santiago Achaval, winemaker at Matervini. ‘After 2014 and 2015 were challenged by rain … Continue reading Argentina Harvest Report 2017

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Wine

Harvest Report Chile 2017

‘It has been the earliest harvest I remember,’ said winemaker Marcelo Retamal, comparing 2017 to the last two decades of Chilean vintages. Chile’s 2017 harvest arrived up to a month early in some regions, but was also notable for high temperatures and low yields. ‘2017 is clearly an atypical vintage, marked by extremely high temperatures, early physiological stages from budding to harvest, and particularly low … Continue reading Harvest Report Chile 2017

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