CATEGORIES

Alto Adige A wine lover’s guide

In Italy’s far north, this is a place that’s ripe for exploring, home to dramatic Alpine scenery and superb skiing, Mediterranean vegetation and sweltering summers – and wines that blend Germanic precision with Italian flair

PET-NAT for beginners

Riding the wave of the natural wine movement, this gently refreshing, often hazy fizz comes in an array of styles to discover and is making its mark on wine lists everywhere

Peak Sancerre Les Monts Damnés

It’s not officially a ‘cru’ as such, but this steep hillside of vineyards with rich, varied soils, in the west of Sancerre, can produce consistently excellent, age-worthy wines that may differ in style but never waver on quality

The joy of GREECE

One of the UK’s best-known wine experts can’t get enough of this ancient wine nation, with its mysterious mosaic of wine regions and grape varieties – here’s his guided tour of some of his favourite spots, from the mainland to the islands

Sam Kaplan

From helping his father with his small vineyard in Oklahoma to being consultant and co-owner of multiple wineries across California, Sam Kaplan's 'valiant life' in Napa wine's top tier has grown to the point that now he's ready to start giving back

Vincent O'Brien: Managing Director, fine wine storage specialists Octavian

Inside a professional's everyday life

The perfect MARTINI

Vodka or gin. Lemon or olive. Shaken or stirred. There's no right answer - or is there? Here's what the world's best Martini-makers have to say on the matter

Pink and proud of it

Darker-coloured, fuller-bodied rosé styles may have slipped out of the spotlight,

New releases Piedmont Nebbiolo

2018 was a bounceback year in Barolo following the difficult, hot year before. The harvest went well overall, and wines will be good for mid-term enjoyment. There's consistent quality from Barbaresco in 2019, and we can also recommend top Riserva wines from Barbaresco 2017 and Barolo 2016, taking a broader look, too, at recent-release Nebbiolo wines from other Piedmont denominations

Madhu's masala lamb

Finding a wine that can pair perfectly with the chilli, spices and meat in this flavour-packed dish is not an easy task, but focus on matching the spices, and the wine combinations can work surprisingly well

Canned wine

Exploring the growing canned wine scene, from summery staples through to more refined choices, our diligent taster eases back the ring-pull on 110 wines to pick out his 18 favourites on shelves now

Can rosé really age?

Yes, there's an ocean of young, pink wines to choose from. But why not offer a bottle-aged, more food-friendly alternative? A niche set of southern French producers do just that – though their approach divides opinion

Decanter guide to PICNICKING FOR WINE LOVERS

If you prefer your summer picnics to feature something rather more special than a juice carton, a sandwich and a packet of crisps, this is the seasonal guide for you

10 reasons to drink English sparkling wine

Basking in the glow of critical acclaim, English fizz no longer has anything to prove. Have you discovered one of wine's great success stories yet?

My top 20 South American Bordeaux blends

Argentina, Chile and Uruguay have a shared formula for fine wines, taking inspiration from the Bordeaux tradition. These wines are excelling today, thanks to increasingly refined winemaking methods and exceptional vintages

2019 revisited Bordeaux in bottle

After tasting more than 800 newly bottled 2019 wines, Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent is full of praise for the vintage’s consistent and expressive wines, with successes on both Left and Right Bank

Southern Rhône 2020

Following on from the northern Rhône 2020 report in our last issue, we delve into the year’s southern Rhône releases, based on a tasting of more than 1,200 wines. This vintage’s wines should be quite accessible when young, and there are some particularly noteworthy whites

South African Sauvignon Blanc 10 top producers

Sit up and take notice: South Africa is blazing a trail in the New World, making site-expressive Sauvignon Blanc. The local winemakers’ respect for their terroir has seen a growing number turning out Sauvignons that speak confidently of their origins. Here are 10 names to watch

FIVE OF THE BEST IRISH WHISKEYS

Popular with drinkers around the world, Irish whiskey has experienced mixed fortunes in the past and the category nearly died out altogether a few decades ago.

The Algarve

Its year-round sun and dramatic coastline mean it’s already a much-loved beach holiday destination. But this southern Portuguese hotspot is upping its game, providing plenty to tempt wine lovers inland for a taste of something different

THE JUNIPER HUNTERS

A small number of British distillers are choosing native juniper rather than popular imported European options to make their gins

Judy Joo's Ultimate KFC

This spicy Korean Fried Chicken dish features in a new book celebrating female chefs on the British food scene. We’ve matched it with wine styles that can take the heat

My life as a personal wine consultant

It isn’t a job you’ll see advertised, so what does it take to become one? Right place, right time? Experience, qualifications, hard work, connections? All of those and more, it turns out

A heavy price

Making glass bottles lighter is an easy way to reduce wine's carbon emissions - yet it remains a weighty issue for the industry, with many producers yet to make changes

Spotlight: Spain Waiting in the wings

There’s good action among collectors, but the investment focus remains on the two Ribera del Duero big-hitters

Southwest France a buyer's guide

The wide range of obscure grapes and unusual styles from France’s rural southwest makes it fascinating yet mysterious – and there are great wines to be found at bargain prices too. Here are the key appellations and producers, plus 10 top bottles to try

Why I make wine in Spain

One roaming winemaker, with a passion for small-batch, low-intervention wines, explains why Spain is among the most exciting places in the world to be making wine at the moment

What's in a SCORE?

Scores rule. Or do they? Nothing in the wine world fuels debate and controversy quite like the subject of scoring

NEW SPANISH WHITES

The last two decades have witnessed a creative revolution in Spain’s white wine production. The 10 wines chosen here shine a light on the producers, grapes and styles that are making waves today

José Vouillamoz

Grape geneticist, author and lecturer