Wine

Wine

We like the way short, stubby wine glasses add a note of nonchalance to a dinner party. The squat stem glass is more casual and understated than their elongated, more fragile counterparts. Case in point: At a recent dinner party, I served drinks in low-to-the-table glasses. I noticed that guests seemed unusually at ease. Maybe it was the glass, or maybe it was the wine, but I'm convinced that shorter is better.

The wind whips the grapevines, turning my meditative picking stance into a full-body workout. I firmly plant my legs, stabilising a thrashing branch with my left hand as my right snips off a bunch of grapes. Local people claim the roaring mistral wind makes you crazy, which I can appreciate as each arid gust chaps my lips and desiccates my eyes. I'm at Domaine Rouge-Bleu, an organic vineyard in the Cotes du Rhone wine region in southern France.

As someone who prefers lighter styles of red wines, the creeping chill of autumn is the perfect nudge I need to make room for more robust options, too. Cabernet sauvignon is a classic choice when it comes to bolder red wines, and there are countless regions around the world that have perfected its iconic characteristics. Depending on its environment, it can have a strong, rugged character or display a riper, sometimes jammy palate.

Asimont, who produces about 800 cases of wine each year under the Dot Wine label, was chosen as Winemaker of the Year because of her impressive showing in April at the North Coast Wine Challenge, presented by The Press Democrat. The competition is exclusively for wines produced with grapes grown in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin, Lake and Solano counties. This year, it received a record-setting 1,147 wine entries from 223 wineries. Four of those entries were from Dot Wine.

Soon the crypt at St Mary-le-Bow will also be one of them as Humble Grape is opening a bar there this November. The church, home to the Bow Bells, was founded around 1080 (having been rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London) and you can see some of that rich history in the crypt, which has original Norman arches and a groined vault.

Sicily has been making wine for thousands of years, but only recently has it begun to present a united voice to the world. That voice is Sicilia DOC, a quality designation created in 2011 that represents the entire island of Sicily. In Italy, DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata. It is more than a technical label. It is a guarantee of authenticity, a safeguard of origin, and a statement of identity.

That's not the way it works at Saint Urban. At this restaurant which opened in May and was named for the patron saint of winemakers, each month choices from the restaurant's 3,000 wines collected over a span of six years and representing a different wine region and dishes reflecting that region are featured. The match is so evocative it will make diners feel that they're actually there.

When your plane lands in Japan, one of the first things a foodie must do is visit the historic Fushimi district for a taste of sake. Depending on the bottle you buy and the exact distilling technique, you'll experience a diverse range of flavors, from sweet to earthy or even sharp tasting. Of course, before you crack open all the bottles you buy, you probably want to know which sake lasts the longest.

Seabird, meanwhile, is one of Time Out's best rooftop restaurants in London. The residency will see Seabird feature a select list of natural wines direct from Bar Brutal's own bodega-turned-wine-bar to pair alongside seasonal Spanish plates. Inspired by Brutal's origins, the seasonal menu will feature The Cellar Pardas - Rupestris 2023 (white), Terroir al Límit - Historic 2022 (red) and an Escoda Sanuhuja - Bassotets 2022 (orange) from their five-starred Can Cisa cellar in Barcelona's El Born.

Last week, I ended my book tour with an event at Elliott's in Edinburgh for the city's book festival. These tastings usually take place on a week night, so I tend to opt for three easy-drinking favourites. A kabinett riesling? Check. A fruity cotes du Rhone? Check. Then I spied a lambrusco. I love starting the evening with a joyous glass of something fizzy but, to my surprise, many members of the audience remarked how they didn't have the best memories of lambrusco.

Donning their best Stetson hats and cowboy boots, wine industry insiders and supporters gathered for the annual Harvest STOMP auction, raising more than $2.7 million to benefit the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation. Executive Director Caleb Mosley called the fundraiser "an incredible event that brings together supporters, wine lovers, industry folks, everyone that really cares about this valley." He said the proceeds fuel education and advocacy for grape growers and farmworkers,

We do not define ourselves solely by our past but are consistently developing ProWein Düsseldorf to be the leading trade fair. Staying innovative and agile is essential, especially in a challenging market situation such as the one we are currently experiencing. The timing couldn't be more crucial. As the wine and spirits industry grapples with evolving consumer preferences, supply chain challenges, and changing market dynamics, ProWein Düsseldorf is stepping up to provide concrete solutions and fresh perspectives.

At the 55-acre estate, head winemaker Maya Hood White marries scientific precision with an intuitive feel for the land, using cover crops and careful canopy management to foster biodiversity and balance. In the cellar, she prefers minimal intervention to allow the vineyards to express themselves. The results are an impressive lineup of signature wines, like the Bordeaux-style Eluvium and RISE blends, as well as aromatic petit manseng wines.

A few obvious things stand out with lemon wine: It's not made from grapes, doesn't rely on the intricacies of terroir, and there's no need for giant oak barrels. It's therefore simple to make and readily available, with far less fuss and frenzy.

Costco is recalling bottles of bubbly in 12 states, saying they could explode unexpectedly. The retailer issued a letter to customers who purchased the Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene between April 25 and August 26. The letter said that unopened bottles of the house brand prosecco could shatter, even when not handled or in use. "If you have an unopened bottle, do not open it," the letter said.

Kirkland Signature is Costco's private-label brand of products. Under that brand, Costco sells a Prosecco Valdobbiadene sparkling wine that it sources from wine producer Ethica Wines. Costco's letter, which it has published on its recalls page, states that unopened bottles of Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene with the Costco item number 1879870 are at risk of shattering, even if the bottle is still sitting on a shelf or counter.

Tillingham is essentially a natural biodynamic wine production business working over 70 acres of gently rolling countryside, near Rye and the Romney Marshes in East Sussex. If only their main trouble was making bottles of chardonnay and pinot blanc, or selling pretty Tillingham tea towels at 36 a pop. But no, Tillingham has (quite literally) many other plates to juggle: it has a fancy restaurant and a vast barn from which they serve pizza, too.

Innovative, a risk-taker, and utterly relentless in her will to overcome all obstacles, one woman not only matched but beat her competitors in the male-dominated champagne industry to establish the brand with the inimitable mango-orange label. Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin (1777-1866), better known to the world by the name of her champagne, Veuve Clicquot ('Widow Clicquot'), was one of the greatest entrepreneurs not just of her own but of any age.

To help us wean ourselves off sprightly roses and buttery whites, let's turn our heads to easy-drinking reds and none are more easy to drink or of the moment than Portuguese red blends. These wines are uniquely indicative of the country's winemaking history, with more than 250 native grapes (some of which have different names from region to region), but I'd wager that many of us wouldn't be able to name many more than two of these indigenous varieties.

It was all too easy to while away a whole day at Spier Hotel. I started one cool spring morning with a swim in the lap pool, steam rising from the heated water, the moon still high in the sky. I spent a couple of hours in the new spa, with its indulgent bathhouse. And later, I sipped South African Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine at the rooftop bar, overlooking mountains painted pink by the setting sun.

Winery owners face more pressure than ever to sustain growth while keeping operational costs lean. Seasonal sales cycles, shifting alcohol consumption habits, and increasingly fragmented media channels have made it harder for small to midsize wine brands to reach new customers - especially online. Source: eMarketer At the same time, US wine buyers are more price-sensitive and brand-loyal than ever. According to 2024 data from eMarketer, nearly half of US adults say price is a "very important" factor when purchasing wine, while just 20% say the same about brand or ratings.

The two most ideal places to drink wine are on your own couch while wearing fuzzy socks, and at an actual vineyard with the winemaker's border collie named Riesling sitting faithfully by your side. But when you're running low on laundry and realize the dog is actually a figment of your buzzed imagination, you do have other options. That's why we have this guide. It's got our 20 favorite places in SF to drink wine. Some of these spots play

The number of wine producers there - and right across the country - has increased in the last two decades. And it's all down to warming temperatures, which means Wales has become 'more suitable' for growing wine grapes, experts say. According to the Foods Standards Agency Wales, a total of 59 vineyards across the country were registered with them at the end of July. This is a huge increase from 'only six' registered in Wales in 2009, according to the BBC.