The rise and rise of Franciacorta

The sparkling wine industry has arrived at a crucial moment. As markets have expanded and consumer attitudes evolved beyond the ‘just for celebrations’ paradigm, brands can expect to achieve growth that would have been impossible in the 20th century. As the hottest consumer wine topic in the UK, the scope to encourage further premiumisation across different sparkling categories is unprecedented.

Georgia uncovered

There’s nowhere in the wine world quite like Georgia. Anyone visiting the country will have heard this mantra. It seems to accompany any discussion of the country’s wines, with their unique qvevris – egg-shaped earthenware buried underground – helping to make wine on the slopes of the South Caucasus for some 8,000 years.

Headline Heroes: Austria’s emerging gem

Being recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site certainly helps turn heads when Austria’s Neusiedlersee DAC tells its as yet largely unknown story. Not least because this relatively compact appellation, with 6,239ha of vineyards wrapped around the eastern and southern half of the lake from which it takes its name, combines diverse terroirs with the ability to produce high-quality wines that reflect the status of the region. Moreover, this is Austria’s sunniest winegrowing area, but with cool nights matching warm growing days, all moderated by the lake. And the resultant wines are typified by cool fruit character and fresh, delicate acidity, which can deliver an appealing combination of elegance and depth.

Italy's northeast: A cool and crisp offer for the UK

Industrious, dynamic and diverse, northeast Italy is one of the nation’s viticultural powerhouses. Yet the region has arguably become a victim of its own success: exports to the UK are largely dominated by Prosecco and other internationally renowned styles, such as Amarone and Pinot Grigio. A great deal of excellent wine, very much on-trend in terms of moderate alcohol, has been sidelined. However, with consumers starting to grasp the profusion of what northeast Italy can offer, key stakeholders have a renewed focus on bringing esoteric styles to our indie merchants and restaurants in 2022.

Flying the flag for German wine

In 2021, the German wine culture garnered newfound global attention after it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. The Committee of Experts at UNESCO cited German wine culture as welcoming and vibrant, an adaptable tradition “firmly anchored in German society”, while highlighting its positive social and cultural aspects. In Germany, as elsewhere, wine culture has determined the rhythm of life of people in winegrowing regions for centuries. This gave rise to numerous customs, seasonal festivals and a vocabulary
of its own, as well as familiar phrases such as “pouring pure wine”, which means to tell the truth.

The evolution of Chile

Just 10 years ago Chile was still talking about emerging regions in its push to communicate diversity and move on from its somewhat ‘safe and reliable’ image. This has fast changed, with a steady drip feed of generic-backed tastings focusing on ancestral and alternative varieties, from resurgent País to a host of contenders as varied as Semillon and Cinsault, Moscatel, Mourvèdre and Riesling, plus much else besides.

Australia: UK market overview

The theme of today is adaptation. The collapse of Australia’s trading relationship with China has left many casualties in its wake, forcing brands to look to new markets and consumers. According to Wine Australia, “exports to mainland China declined by 97% in value and 93% in volume to 6.4 million litres in 2021, a loss of nearly $1bn (£574m) in value when compared with 2020”. Ironically, China was once touted as Australia’s salvation, when demand in Western Europe and the US started to slump in the mid-2000s. Everyone anticipated that Asia’s biggest country would plug the gap.

Australian winegrape crush returns to near-average size in vintage 2022

The 2022 Australian winegrape crush is estimated to be 1.73 million tonnes, 2% below the 10-year average and 13.5% below the 2021 record crush of 2.01 million tonnes, according to the National Vintage Report 2022 released today by Wine Australia. 

Tim Atkin MW releases his 2022 Argentina Report

Leading UK wine writer and Master of Wine Tim Atkin has released his latest in-depth overview of the Argentinian wine scene. His annual report, now in its tenth edition and available through timatkin.com, is regarded as one of the most authoritative reviews of this major wine-producing nation.

Talking heads; Malbec and beyond

Buyers and critics alike share a snapshot of what currently excites them about South America with Sonya Hook.

Andean offer

Both as wine producers and countries, Argentina and Chile offer very different profiles. The former has its hugely successful hero variety in Malbec, while the latter, having driven its reputation on affordable and accessible international varieties, is gaining ground as a producer of genuine interest and value in the mid-price range. Argentina too, with Malbec having secured a strong foothold at a more premium ‘entry’ price level, has been pushing its diversity, while climbing its flagship variety higher up the price ladder in independents and the on-trade.

World wakes up to Austrian wine quality

From Wachau to Neusiedlersee, David Kermode takes a trip through Austria’s must-know regions.

Koshu: A distinctly Japanese elixir with a growing stable of styles

It’s difficult to gauge how much is known in the UK about the white wine grape Koshu. Hailing almost exclusively from Yamanashi prefecture’s Katsunuma region – the ‘birthplace’ of Japanese viticulture – the wine remains largely shrouded in mystery to the UK trade, despite Koshu of Japan’s faithful annual tastings.

Resetting Australia

With export markets yo-yoing in the wake of China’s trade tariffs, Australia is once again reassessing its place in the wine world. Andrew Catchpole reports.

A climate Rubicon

Late frost wreaked havoc in the Loire, the ‘Garden of France’, in 2021. Jo Gilbert looks at how the region is looking to mitigate growing climate issues while keeping up momentum for its plethora of popular styles.

Australia facing the heat

With much of its current viticultural activity already adjusting to a changing climate, Australia’s wine industry is fast progressing with its sustainability programmes.

Prosecco opens doors for Italy

David Kermode delves into the world of Italian sparklers as the category covers new ground, from the march of rosé Prosecco to the increasingly popular high-quality fizzes of Franciacorta and Trento.

Port’s new groove

An explosion of on-trend Port products with instant drinkability is providing a fillip to a previously flatlining category, finds Jo Gilbert. 

Chile's old vine renaissance

Esoteric but firmly grounded

How new wave Spain is building a repertoire of modern, terroir-driven classics. By Ines Salpico.