There is a moment, driving south along the Deutsche Weinstrasse in September, when you understand exactly why the Romans settled here. The Haardt mountains sit at your back, blocking Atlantic rain; the Rhine plain stretches golden ahead of you; and vines press right to the roadside, close enough to brush the car window. The Pfalz…
There is a particular moment, usually somewhere between Greve in Chianti and Panzano, when you stop looking at the map and just look out the window. Rows of Sangiovese climbing limestone ridges, stone farmhouses flanked by cypress trees, and light that seems uniquely calibrated for this landscape. No amount of reading prepares you for how…
There is a stretch of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn where the river narrows, the hills close in, and vines grip the rock at angles that would give most viticulturalists pause. This is the Mittelrhein, one of Germany’s smallest wine regions, one of its most visually dramatic, and arguably its most underrated. The name…
There is a particular satisfaction in watching a wine region reinvent itself without losing its identity. The Rheinhessen wine region has done exactly that over the past two decades, evolving from a producer best known for semi-sweet bulk wines into one of Germany’s most compelling destinations for serious wine lovers. With 27,657 hectares of vineyards…
There is a moment, somewhere between the first pour and the second sip, when Franciacorta stops being a conversation point and becomes an experience. The glass catches the light; the perlage rises in a fine, disciplined column; and the nose delivers something that resists easy categorisation: ripe orchard fruit, a whisper of brioche, a mineral…
There are wine regions you visit for the scenery, and there are wine regions you visit because the wine itself demands a pilgrimage. Barolo, tucked into the Langhe hills of Piedmont in northwestern Italy, manages to be both at once. Rows of Nebbiolo climb over hills the color of ochre and rust in autumn, medieval…
A firsthand guide to the DOCG, its crus, its producers, and the wines you should have in your cellar. Why Barbaresco Deserves Far More Attention Than It Gets There is a tendency among wine enthusiasts, even well-travelled ones, to arrive in the Langhe and make a beeline for Barolo. The “King of Italian Wines” sits…
There are wine regions you visit for the scenery, and there are wine regions you visit for what’s in the glass. The Mosel wine region is one of the rare places where both reasons carry equal weight. The river carves a series of tight, looping bends through the Rhineland-Palatinate, and on nearly every outer bend,…
Why the Ahr Deserves More Attention Than It Gets Ask a seasoned wine enthusiast to name Germany’s best red wine region, and the Ahr wine region will almost certainly come up. Ask a casual wine drinker, and you will likely draw a blank. That gap between recognition and reputation is precisely what makes the Ahr…
When you think of the sun-drenched vineyards of southern Spain, your mind likely drifts toward the famous Sherry triangle of Jerez. But travel just a couple of hours inland, past the ancient olive groves and the undulating hills of Córdoba, and you will find a quiet, profoundly historic, and arguably more fascinating winemaking powerhouse: the…