CATEGORIES

Olly Smith

Wine broadcaster, author, columnist

A matter of TASTE

Think vodka is a bland, flavourless spirit? Think again. With producers focusing on provenance and terroir, vodka is reinventing itself as a characterful choice for connoisseurs

In (& around) fair Verona

Many of northern Italy’s key wine-growing regions are to be found between the city of Verona and stunning Lake Garda. Our guide to the area takes in wineries, ancient monuments, top restaurants and more, as we pass through illustrious wine zones and historic villages and towns

2020 en primeur How US tastings went digital

With global travel shut down and a world in lockdown, Bordeaux’s futures campaign in the US had to get creative. With an ocean between wine and critics, how did the tastings work?

Spotlight: Champagne - Top blends hit the mark

Pick the right names and vintages, and Champagne can offer solid returns, as seen in a sound market performance in the early part of 2021

Our top 25 sparkling crémants

If you haven’t discovered the connoisseur’s fizz yet, here are 25 sparkling reasons to explore France’s wide range of deliciously on-trend, bottle-fermented crémant styles

Portugal's power couples

Meet three winemaking couples who have put their wines on the map by working together, both as a lockdown necessity and a permanent partnership

Tamworth BELLY RIBS

The most popular starter at London steakhouse chain Hawksmoor is a great summer dish to recreate at home. Serve it with one of our wine matches for pork perfection

MY TOP 20: VIOGNIER BEYOND THE RHONE

Have you discovered it yet? Its peachy, food-friendly versatility has made Viognier something of a cult-favourite among the Anything-But-Chardonnay circles, but what are the best-value options? Fiona Beckett picks her favourites from beyond its home region

Plan your wine weekend: 4 GREAT EUROPEAN SHORT BREAKS

A romantic escape, a weekend away with friends… Fiona Sims provides some much-needed inspiration for 2021 after the cancellation of so many travel plans last year, picking four vibrant European destinations that wine lovers will love

THE LOW- AND NO- REVOLUTION

The rapid rise of zero-abv spirits has laid the foundation for a whole new category of drinks. Julie Sheppard finds out what’s driving the change and recommends which bottles to buy

PIC ST-LOUP

Dominated by the tilted limestone block of Pic St-Loup itself, this appellation on the cooler, wetter eastern side of the Languedoc AP region is noted for its fresh and fragrant wines, with Syrah the star. Andrew Jefford charts its progress and predicts a bright future

SULPHUR DIOXIDE IN WINE: the great debate

The use of sulphur dioxide as a preservative in winemaking is a contentious topic, and it elicits strong opinions from producers and wine lovers alike. Rupert Joy gives an overview of the issue, weighing the pros and cons of an SO2-free approach

Jane Anson

‘Cyber-attacks against drinks companies have been gathering steam’

OREGON PINOT NOIR

The Willamette Valley, with its distinctive soils and generally mild climate, has found great success with this temperamental, traditionally Burgundian variety. Charles Curtis MW shares his top selections

Distilled by Decanter

A new guide to the latest trends in spirits and cocktails.

GROSSET WINES

Four decades on, this pioneering Clare Valley producer’s commitment to making world-class Riesling is unwavering – a goal that’s led its founder to embrace biodynamics, blockchain projects and more. By David Sly

BURGUNDY 2019

After 16 days in Burgundy tasting 1,177 wines in all, Charles Curtis MW recommends 67 of his top-scoring whites and reds from this heat-affected but very well-received vintage

Lockdown Stories: View From The Vines

As our lives and horizons suddenly closed in around us, growing more limited in the year of Covid-19, it was perhaps difficult to appreciate what other people ‘out there’, elsewhere in the world, were experiencing and feeling. Peter Richards MW spoke to winemakers in six different nations to find out how they and their teams coped as events developed

Anniversary Buys: The Decanter Guide

Whether you’re toasting an 18th birthday with a birth-year Bordeaux or marking a golden wedding anniversary with a 50-year-old fizz, major milestones deserve a magnificent wine to match. Anthony Rose went in search of the best bottles to help your 2021 celebrations go with a bang

VIRGINIA STATE, USA

Virginia is a wine region that is beginning to see the fruits of its perseverance. Adventurous winemakers in this eastern state, close to Washington DC, have learned to adapt, and the proof is in a smartly deployed array of grapes and styles. Jason Tesauro takes a tour and highlights producers to watch and a selection of its distinctive wines to try

PETRUS

Icon: it’s a word that is much overused, in wine as elsewhere. But in the context of the world’s greatest wines, none could be more deserving of the descriptor than this sought-after and convention-defying estate on Bordeaux’s Right Bank. Jane Anson gets to the heart of the enigma that is Petrus

SWEET AND FORTIFIED WINES: how to serve and preserve

They’re among the best value, and most delicious, wines in the world. But there can still be uncertainty among wine lovers around how best to enjoy these classic and characterful styles. Anne Krebiehl MW asks the experts for their food-pairing tips

SWEET BORDEAUX: looking beyond the obvious

It’s not all about Sauternes, you know – there are other, lesser-known Bordeaux areas that produce top-notch dessert styles using botrytised grapes. Andy Howard MW explores these outlying and often great-value appellations, and recommends 12 top wines to try

AGEING GRACEFULLY

Matured for at least 10 years in oak casks, XO Cognac is one of life’s affordable luxuries. Laura Foster explains how it’s made and recommends top XOs to buy

BILLECART-SALMON, CUVEE NICOLAS FRANCOIS 1959 Champagne, France

DECANTER WINE LEGENDS

Andrew Jefford

‘The jolts of 2020 have been an education – the lesson is care’

2020: the year that was

2020: the year that was Celebrity wines, counterfeit SuperTuscans and paper bottles. We look back at Decanter news coverage from a year to remember – and not just for Covid-19. Compiled by Chris Mercer

MY SINGAPORE

This vibrant city-island-nation can be something of a sensory overload, with the humid climate, multiple languages spoken and a plethora of gastronomic options. Resident Ch’ng Poh Tiong is the ideal local guide

ROYAL TOKAJI, NYULASZO ASZU 6 PUTTONYOS 1993

Tokaj, Hungary