Wine Blog

Imagine walking into your garden on a warm summer evening. The flowers are blooming, the birds are still singing, and somewhere beneath the grass, a collection of wine bottles is resting in the cool darkness. No noisy refrigerator. No expensive room renovation. Just a little cellar tucked into the earth, waiting for you to choose […]

There is something about the colder months that changes the way we enjoy wine. During summer, we reach for chilled white wines, refreshing rosés, and perhaps a sparkling glass on a warm evening. But when autumn arrives and the days become shorter, a different kind of wine begins to sound appealing. Something warm. Something fragrant. […]

A vineyard doesn’t have to catch fire to lose its harvest. Sometimes, the greatest damage arrives on the wind. When we think of wildfires destroying vineyards, we imagine blackened grapevines, scorched earth and entire rows of plants reduced to ashes. But there is another, less visible danger. One that can affect vineyards many kilometres away […]

You are standing in the fruit aisle looking at a box of perfectly plump red grapes when the thought occurs: Could I actually turn these into wine? The short answer is yes. Supermarket grapes contain sugar, juice and naturally occurring acids — everything needed to provide the basic raw material for fermentation. Add the right […]

After the grapes have been picked and the vineyard begins to quieten for the year, something rather beautiful happens. The leaves that spent summer feeding and sheltering the grapes begin to change. Green turns to yellow, bronze, crimson and deep wine-red. We usually admire them, photograph them and then forget about them. But red vine […]

Napa Valley has a small problem. There are too many wineries. Not objectively, of course. From the point of view of civilisation, having hundreds of wineries to choose from is probably a rather pleasant problem to have. But for a first-time visitor, it can produce a particular kind of panic: How many can we fit […]

Gifting wine sounds easy until you’re standing in front of a wall of bottles, wondering whether your friend prefers bold or smooth, or whether $60 is too much or not enough. If the person you’re shopping for loves red wine, Napa Valley is one of the safest places to start. This guide covers why Napa […]

There is something about the beginning of autumn that brings truffles back into our imagination. In Piedmont, anticipation is already building for the prized white truffles hidden beneath the soil. The 2026 International Alba White Truffle Fair begins on 10 October and runs until 6 December, just as one of the world’s most celebrated truffle […]

Few ingredients are as closely tied to Piedmont as the truffle. In autumn, the region’s food and wine culture comes together particularly clearly: fresh truffles arrive in restaurants and markets just as visitors are exploring the vineyards and cellars of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato. For wine lovers, truffle season creates an interesting pairing question. […]

A glass tips over. For about three seconds, everyone at the table stares at the spreading red patch in horror. Then the advice begins. “Salt!” “White wine!” “Club soda!” “Put it under the tap!” Suddenly, everyone is a stain-removal expert. But when red wine lands on your favourite shirt, dress or trousers, the first few […]