Essays

What’s a Sommelier?

by  |  27-07-2020 ~ 16 Comments

The sommelier. What was once just the guy in the room with a corkscrew has become one of the sexier titles to hold these days. But what does it mean? The most basic definition of... more »

Avaline wine and transparent production

by  |  20-07-2020 ~ 7 Comments

It would have been hard to avoid the news of Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power launching their white and rosé "Avaline" wine last week. In what was an amazing-to-behold marketing campaign, their PR firm, KLG... more »
Photo by Lenka Sedláčková

A love affair with Assyrtiko

by  |  24-06-2020 ~ 3 Comments

Scrolling through my Instagram feed, you may think that I am a bit of an Assyrtiko fan girl and you'd not be wrong. Fuelled by my love of all things Greek, I studied the language... more »

Don’t come around here no more

by  |  04-06-2020 ~ 4 Comments

It was amazing to see so much work put into such a campaign in Priorat. It was after all shared widely across social media. Our village notice systems were constantly broadcasting it as well. Even... more »
Resting hound at a Stellenbosch winery

The fall and rise of Pinotage

by  |  12-05-2020 ~ 27 Comments

Members of the wine trade are cursed to forever wander from party to party and set the record straight with regards to Chardonnay. The ‘Anything But Chardonnay’ crowd still walk among us and it must... more »

What you might not have known about Georgian wine & food, Part II

by  |  27-03-2020

Daria Kholodilina is the co-author of Georgia: A Guide to the Cradle of Wine. Here she breaks down a number of lesser-known facts about the food and wine of this delicious country. See Part I... more »

The demise of “Atwater & Clough”, a cautionary enotourism tale

by  |  17-03-2020

The bankruptcy of Thomas Cook in later 2019 was the biggest news to hit the travel industry in a long time--until of course COVID-19 emerged. This large, venerable travel agency collapsing meant tens of thousands... more »

What you might not have known about Georgian wine & food, Part I

by  |  09-03-2020

Daria Kholodilina is the co-author of Georgia: A Guide to the Cradle. Here she breaks down a number of lesser-known facts about the food and wine of this delicious country. See Part II for more.... more »

A drop of natural water

by  |  07-01-2020

One may look far and wide, but the casal of any Catalan village is a four-walled testament to the religion of concrete that dominated Spanish construction in the later 20th century. It does only as... more »

Yes, #WineToo

by  |  11-11-2019 ~ 4 Comments

By now, most everyone has heard the unfortunate news about sommelier, Anthony Cailan and his reported sexual assault of various women that have both been his subordinates as well other women he's been in contact... more »