Gut Oggau: Austria’s Burgenland Winery Making Stunningly Original Natural Wines
Eduard Tscheppe and Stephanie Tscheppe-Eselböck farm 20 hectares of vines at Gut Oggau, in Austria’s Burgenland. They work with old vines and are Demeter-certified biodynamic growers, making wines with minimal intervention. They bought the historic estate in Oggau in 2007, after its previous owner had gone a decade without making wine. With few models to… Read More »
The Pocket Wine Book at 50: A Legacy of Staccato Virtuosity
As the 2027 edition appears, The Pocket Wine Book marks 50 years of helping readers choose wine. Its size has grown—from 144 pages in 1977 to 368 today—but its central idea remains the same: a compact, personal guide shaped by informed opinions and a clear sense of what makes a wine worth drinking. When Hugh… Read More »
Can Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Grape Varieties Help Meet the Challenge of Hotter Summers?
During the four heatwaves that swept across Languedoc between May and August 2026, scorching days and unusually hot nights kept people indoors. The vineyards had no such refuge. In July, I drove to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of France’s warmest appellations, expecting to find the vines struggling. Instead, they looked healthy, although the weeds had stopped growing.… Read More »
South American Reds: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
South American red wine has changed dramatically over the past two decades. New vineyards have pushed into different latitudes and elevations, while improved soil mapping has helped producers understand established regions in greater detail. Winemakers have also revisited old-vine varieties such as Bonarda, Carignan, Cinsault, Criolla, and País, and expanded their use of grapes including… Read More »
Spirits Briefing: Tasting the New £21,000 Louis XIII Cognac
Louis XIII has introduced Black Pearl: Tribute to the Birthplace of Louis XIII, a Cognac priced at £21,000 per bottle. The release is designed to recreate the experience of tasting Cognac straight from a cask in the historic Le Grollet cellar. Its midnight-blue decanter comes with a dedicated cooling cabinet that maintains a temperature of… Read More »
Searching for Syrah: 25 Wines from Around the World for Northern Rhône Fanatics
Syrah is remarkably adaptable, producing everything from fine-boned, aromatic reds to rich, powerful Shiraz. But outside its northern Rhône heartland, it can be difficult to predict what style a bottle will offer. For drinkers drawn to the Rhône’s savoury expression, the key is often a wine that puts herbs, spices, flowers and smoke ahead of… Read More »
Tasting Ports from Quinta do Infantado, a Notable Douro Producer
Quinta do Infantado is a family-owned estate in Portugal’s Douro Valley, established in 1816. It became the first quinta in the region to bottle its own Port, in 1979, rather than sending the wine to Vila Nova de Gaia. At the time, regulations prevented producers from exporting Port unless it had passed through Gaia, so… Read More »
Dream Destination: Harbor House Inn in Mendocino, California
The Harbor House Inn sits above a cove in Elk, a small town on California’s rugged Northern Coast about three hours from San Francisco. The drive gives little hint that a luxurious inn and two-Michelin-starred restaurant await at the end of it. There are two main routes from San Francisco. Highway 101 to Cloverdale and… Read More »
Domaine du Pélican: Guillaume d’Angerville’s Jura Venture
Guillaume d’Angerville began looking for vineyards in France’s Jura region in 2007, when it was far less fashionable than it is today. He had returned to his family’s Volnay estate, Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, in 2003 after his father’s death. A blind tasting helped spark his interest in the Jura: he mistook an Arbois wine for… Read More »