CATEGORIES

Andrew Jefford Without the younger generation we'll lose farming as it exists here'

Airy, it was: a high saddle at the seaward end of the Mayacamas ridge. The newly planted vineyards splayed upwards from the crux of tracks that met there.

VENTOUX AOC The rising star of the Rhône

The Southern Rhone appellation is emerging as a community-led force of innovation and sustainability.

Hugh Johnson 'There is real excitement to be found among neglected grape varieties'

Gondolas were everywhere. That’s what they call the skips brimming with the harvest – the Venetian analogy presumably from the fact that they both turn up at the ends.

Northern Rhône 2022

The 2022 vintage is full of surprises and couldn't be more different to 2021. Variations in style make choosing which wines to buy a bit of a challenge, but having tasted more than 1,200 wines, Decanter's Rhône expert has done the work in pinpointing the best buys of the vintage

XAREL·LO RISING HIGH

Spain's answer to white Burgundy? Its more passionate advocates like to argue so.For a long time lost in an ocean of nondescript Cava, Xarel·lo is now emerging as one of Spain's most lauded native white grapes

Wine wisdom

Our regular learning section helps you get more from your glass

Hundred Acre

In arare in-depth interview granted to Decanter, we meet the dauntless Jayson Woodbridge. The founder of Hundred Acre is a controversial figure in the Napa Valley, yet the wine community can’t ignore the fact that his wines are celebrated by pundits the world over

FIVE OF THE BEST

New-wave vodkas

Pedalling Priorat A Catalonia cycling guide

For the firm of thigh, pedal power may be the best way to experience the switchbackstrewn landscape of Priorat. With wines as exquisite as the hills of the Costa Daurada are steep, it’s surely worth saddling up for this two-wheeled adventure

Inside a professional's everyday life

What’s the best thing about your job? The versatility. Every day is different. Working across nursery propagation, grape farming, winemaking, marketing, travel and research and development. It’s never boring.

British rums

Craft distillers in the UK are turning their enthusiastic attention to a spirit that’s usually associated with tropical climes... We explore the burgeoning British rum scene and recommend six bottles to try

Andrew Jefford 'Biodynamically grown, artisanally crafted - and free of chemicals, of course. Not so'

Welcome; come in. Please sit. Here’s a complex mixture of chemical compounds in solution, served in a black-glass beaker. It won’t kill you; trust me. Have a sip.

Telmo Rodríguez

Determined to create a new conversation around Rioja, the prolific and world-renowned winemaker teamed up with six of his growers to make a range in which each wine is imbued with a distinct sense of its place of origin

Navarra

From its famed bull-running capital to its dry and rocky badlands, this northern Spanish region is blessed with a wide variety of international grapes, but its indigenous Garnacha is the rising star

Understanding Castilla y León

This wide expanse of territory in Spain’s northwest incorporates at least three major DO regions and numerous others, giving huge scope for wine exploration, with many styles to choose from. Here we discover the producers, wines and latest trends to look out for

UKRAINE A wine odyssey

Fully committed and determined is perhaps understating it when it comes to the winemakers of Ukraine. Appearing more widely now in the UK and other markets, theirs are wines that feature familiar grape names along with a whole cast of new varieties, styles and geographies waiting to be discovered

Alsace Pinot Noir

A blind tasting of 2019-vintage wines showed that this classic yet sometimes overlooked French region is now more than capable of matching better-known, quality Pinot Noir-producing areas

Marinela Ivanova

Beverage manager, residential ship

Elaine Chukan Brown: For an emerging region, success with a grape like Chardonnay proves tricky'

Recognition of a wine region outside its own borders often depends on its success with a well-known variety or a singular style.

ANNIVERSARY WINES Celebrate in 2024

It's largely 'vintages ending in 4' for anyone looking for wines to mark a significant milestone this coming year. This is bad news for some based on vintage performances, though promising for others. Our annual expert selection will help you locate that ideal bottle for the perfect 2024 gift

Burgundy 2022

Despite the (very) hot and dry season, 2022 wasn't a typical année solaire, according to the verdicts of Burgundy's winemakers, with quality and quantity to be found, many early-drinking options, but reds to lay down, too. Our expert's selection of 40 excellent whites and reds will point the way...

Vancouver Island A wine lover's guide

Lying just off British Columbia's west coast, this Pacific-facing island may not be Canada's best-known wine tourism draw, but it offers a bounty of hidden gems. And vying for the accolade of Canada's warmest place, it's the perfect destination for a winter getaway

How we taste

Decanter has been one of the world's most trusted wine resources since 1975, with blind tasting the foundation of our panel tastings. Here we give insight into how our judges conduct their assessments and why Decanter's expert recommendations are much more than the score

Low and no-alcohol spirits for dry January

FIVE OF THE BEST

Chris Losh: What's the alternative?

'Aperitivos are a really hot part of alcohol-free with complex examples where you don't miss the alcohol'

Wine wisdom

Our regular learning section helps you get more from your glass

WINES OF THE YEAR

Are you resolved to drink better in 2024 and looking for a unique list of classic wines, great buys under £20, and one-off quirky options? The Decanter team and our global experts nominated some of their favourites from 2023, which we then tasted blind to come up with a distinctive list of 113 top bottles scoring 90 points and above

AROUND AUSTRALIA in 20 wines

An Aussie wine advocate since the late 1980s, Matthew Jukes has recently released the 20th anniversary edition of his 100 Best Australian Wines report. Here he reflects on how the country's wine industry has changed over that time, and picks out 20 top wines from his 2023/2024 selection

40-cloves-of-garlic chicken

If you need a reliable yet delicious one-pan crowd-pleaser to add to your repertoire, this Provençal-style staple is hard to beat - to match with a range of whites or rosé

Andrew Jefford: 'Serious wine glasses are intimidating: they're a prelude to silence and endeavour'

The Alsace town of Riquewihr was where I found them. A march up the cobbled Rue du Général de Gaulle, past the coloured, half-timbered houses, to a shop called L’Aventure. Not misnamed: it was chaos in there.