Decanter’s selection of 24 wine-themed gift ideas

Exton Park 60 Above and 60 Below Prestige Pack

Exton Park 60 Above and 60 Below Prestige Pack
£225 Exton Park

A fascinating comparison, this limited-edition pack (only 150 produced) features two bottles of the Hampshire winery’s Blanc de Blancs 2014. Both have spent six years ageing on lees, one (‘Above’) in the cellar for six years, the other (‘Below’) under the sea off the coast of Brittany for one of its years. Read Decanter’s exclusive tasting report.

Taylor’s Chip Dry & Tonic in a can
Amazon UK

An ideal stocking filler, this classic combination of white Port and tonic comes in a handy single serving. Pour over ice, add a slice of lemon or orange and a sprig of mint, or simply serve chilled from the can.

Peugeot Frizz wine-cooling sleeve
£24.99 Peugeot Saveurs

Available also in red, this clever sleeve is made with expandable elastic so will fit snugly around any 75cl bottle, still or sparkling. Chill bottles from room temperature in 20 minutes and keep them chilled for two hours.

The Wine Society’s Adventurer’s Case

The Wine Society Adventurer’s Case
£62 The Wine Society

Perfect for the curious wine collector, and one of a range of gift cases, this selection (code XC2323A) of six offbeat bottles includes wines from Greece, Turkey and Moldova as well as lesser-known styles from Italy.

World Cocktail Atlas
Amazon UK

Decanter contributor and TV’s Saturday Kitchen wine presenter Olly Smith brings his infectious enthusiasm to this whirlwind tour of the world’s best cocktail recipes.

Le Nez du Vin 54 Aromas set

Le Nez du Vin 54 Aromas set
£269 Wineware

These kits (available in various sizes) are a godsend for anyone wanting to improve their blind-tasting skills, helping develop the sense of smell and ability to recognise and describe the common aromas of different wines.

Wine Escape Room game
£25 Menkind

Lock up a bottle of your favourite wine, then move through four imaginary rooms solving a clue in each to discover a four-digit code that unlocks the padlock. Buy a bottle of wine and lock it inside for a great gift.

Decanter gifts

Tickets to the highly anticipated February 2024 Decanter Italy Experience tasting event at the Landmark Hotel, London NW1? Or for those further afield, a subscription to the magazine or Decanter Premium website is the gift that keeps on giving.

Riedel Black Tie decanter
£600 Riedel

A design statement, guaranteed to impress on the dinner table. Free-blown and formed without the aid of a mould, so each looped design is unique. The decanter features a black stripe created by introducing a rod of black crystal into the molten glass before it is formed.

Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2024
Amazon UK

Decanter columnist Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, billed as the ‘world’s best-selling annual wine guide’, is in its 47th year of publication (edited by Margaret Rand).
Facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions, with advice on vintages to buy, drink and cellar. The perfect stocking filler.

WSET gift vouchers
WSET

Available in denominations from £5 to £200, these gift vouchers can be redeemed against any qualification course or evening tasting on offer at the Wine & Spirit Education
Trust’s London School, or against WSET study materials or textbooks. Must be redeemed by post or in person.

Kurt Zalto Josephine collection

Kurt Zalto Josephine collection
Josephinenhütte

These handcrafted glasses (£70 each) feel as delicate and light as air, but are gloriously hardwearing. There are four wine glasses in the range, which was launched in the UK earlier this year: white, universal, red and Champagne.

Sustainable wine cooler
€3,349 PeVino

It cost the Danish company PeVino 3 million Danish kroner to develop the Imperial Eco wine cooler, which consumes less than half the power of the average model due to its
construction from materials including skyscraper glass (and low noise, too, at only 35dB). Holds 96 bottles.

Chapel Down

Chapel Down tour and experiences
£750 for two Chapel Down 

Kent big-name winery Chapel Down has an impressive range of tours and tastings, including the ultimate treat, the Sissinghurst Castle Experience. Enjoy a private tour of the vineyards and winery, and three-course lunch in the winery restaurant. The package includes a two-night stay at the five-star Sissinghurst Castle B&B with access to the world-renowned Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, part of the National Trust estate.

12 Nights of Wine Collections
Vinebox

Sample a new wine every evening with the 12 Nights of Wine Cozy Collection (fireside reds) or Chill Collection (a mix of whites, rosé and chillable reds) – US$129 each or both for $199. Each elegantly presented case includes 12 wines (10cl each), wine guide with tasting notes and pairing suggestions, sommelier-led virtual tasting videos for each wine, and a 12 Nights of Wine art print.

Kloveo Champagne stopper

Kloveo Champagne stopper
Amazon UK

Used in top Champagne bars around the world, this stopper has a patented design with a self-tightening seal and easy-release clip. Keeps that bottle of fizz fizzy for a few days at least.

Wine puzzles
Ginger Fox 

Puzzle Cru’s hand-drawn maps in jigsaw form come with an accompanying poster. Choose from Wines of France, Italy or Spain & Portugal (£17.99, 1,000 pieces each) or Whiskies of Scotland (£12.99, 500 pieces).

The Wiston Hamper for Two
£120 Wiston Estate

Perfect for a couple, this wicker hamper from award-winning Sussex winery Wiston Estate includes a bottle of its single-vineyard Cuvée 2016; a 50cl screwtop tin of Wiston Gin (Alc 40%) made with leftover grapes from the winemaking process; a voucher for two to enjoy a tour and tasting at the estate itself, a pair of sparkling wine glasses and a sparkling wine stopper.

Pour Me A Box cheese selection
$94.99 Beehive Cheese

This gift box from Utah company Beehive Cheese features three cheeses inspired by popular alcoholic tipples: Kentucky bourbon, spiced rum and Cabernet. Also includes a cheese knife and salami.

Üllo Wine Purifier
£69.99 Üllo

Ideal for those who are sensitive to sulphites in wine, the Üllo Wine Purifier is ingeniously designed to combine an adjustable wine aerator with a sulphites filter. Also includes a travel bag, display base and four single-bottle filters.

Ibérica Sherry discovery experience

Ibérica Sherry discovery experience 
£45 Ibérica 

Expand your knowledge of Sherry culture at Iberica’s London restaurants with a private tutored tasting of five different styles, each paired with savoury nibbles (the PX and blue cheese is a match made in heaven). The experience finishes with a choice of Sherry cocktail, and you’ll get printed and digital tasting notes to take home. Stay on for authentic tapas and make an evening of it.

Authentic Glühwein
£10.99 The WineBarn

A world away from the mulled wine you encounter at most UK commercial Christmas markets, the Glühwein from top German specialist The WineBarn is 100% organic Dornfelder, blended with spices, orange peel and a little sugar.

Coravin Limited Edition Timeless Three+
£259.99 Coravin 

It has revolutionised wine drinking, allowing you to preserve opened bottles of fine wine in tip-top condition. This smart limited-edition release includes two argon capsules, two screwcaps and an aerator.

Manchester Wine Tours
£75 Manchester Wine Tours 

Aimed at both Manchester locals and tourists, this three-hour tour of the city’s best wine bars, shops and restaurants for wine is guided by local food and drink writer and wine tutor Kelly Bishop, aka @keliseating. Includes six small glasses of wine and a series of wine-matched snacks at four or five different places.

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‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes’ – Vincent Dauvissat

After a week spent in Chablis tasting 375 wines, it is clear that 2022 is a very good year – and potentially an excellent one. Although a warm and very dry vintage, yields were not excessive and, crucially, acidity is high. The resulting wines are very well balanced with a lovely combination of the freshness and minerality which typifies Chablis, combined with fleshy, ripe, stone- and tree-fruit flavours.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top-scoring and top-value Chablis 2022 wines

Coming after the very challenging growing season in 2021 (severe frosts, cold weather and rainfall leading to disease pressure), Chablis 2022 has a different style and one which will appeal both to ‘classic’ Chablis lovers as well as those looking for more generous fruit character.

Top producer Vincent Dauvissat commented that in 2022 ‘the vines were recovering from 2021, and were compensating with lots of vegetative growth’. Dauvissat notes: ‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes.’

See the Chablis 2022 top wines score table for all wines scoring 93 points or above

Howard’s pick: 30 great buys

The following wines are Andy Howard MW’s pick of the top-scoring and best-value Chablis 2022 wines, according to his own extensive tastings, as well as including wines from ‘producers to look out for’.

NB: many retailers’ allocations for these wines are as yet unconfirmed – prices and stockists are given where available, and alcohol levels are shown where known at the time of writing. If we have awarded ‘Top value’ to an as-yet unpriced wine, it is based on our predicted pricing.

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Marlborough’s problem is one of transition: for people visiting New Zealand, even for many nationals, it is a place you go past if you’re going somewhere else. Its location – a 30-minute drive south of Picton (the main port of entry to the South Island via the Cook Strait car ferry from Wellington) – means people are either trying to make it north to the ferry or continuing south to Christchurch, Otago or even west to Nelson and the West Coast region.

That’s a shame because Marlborough has everything to offer if you just stop and take a bit more time. Its main centre Blenheim is a functional town but set in beautiful part of New Zealand. And the mountains and hills feel close, especially the dramatic Richmond Range to the north.

Indeed, as Auntsfield winemaker Luc Cowley pointed out, you can always orient yourself in the Wairau Valley, Marlborough’s main wine-growing area: the blue mountains (the Richmond Ranges) lie to the north and the green mountains lie to the south. These latter are more a shade of brown in summer, hence their name: the Wither Hills.

The Marlborough Sounds, too – a collection of ancient valleys flooded with Pacific ocean waters along a 1,500km stretch of coastline – is a stone’s throw away. While many patrons of the car ferry admire its beauty as they pass through the parade of pristine, almost uninhabited bays and coves before hopping in their vehicle and driving on, it is a very good reason to hang around.

Diversity in abundance

There is much else on offer in Marlborough – and that is true of the wines, too. The region has considerably more to recommend it than the Sauvignon Blanc upon which it made its reputation. What’s more, most cellar doors are focused in a relatively small and easily navigable area around Blenheim and Renwick 8km to its west, with the region’s airport lying in between.

In this road trip, we’ve allocated two days to the Wairau Valley so visitors can really get an idea of how diverse the sub-region and its wines can be. Further information can be found on the wine tourism map at marlboroughwinenz.com, while the more energetic traveller can take advantage of local bicycle routes.

We’ve grouped our three-day itinerary so it can easily be rearranged. For instance, those travelling down from North Island could arrive in Picton and head straight to the Marlborough Sounds before returning to Picton the next morning and heading south to Blenheim. Both days 1 and 2 finish around Renwick, which allows travellers to take the 1.5-hour drive along State Highway 6 (SH6) further west to Nelson.

If you only have two days available, start with the day 2 itinerary then do day 1’s suggested trip in reverse (ie, drive out to Renwick and head up SH6 before turning east onto Rapaura Road). Fit in the wineries you want before continuing on Rapaura Road to meet SH1 and continue your journey south.

Day one: Wairau Valley from Blenheim

Nautilus Estate’s main entrance and cellar door on Rapaura Road, Renwick

Grab a breakfast coffee and toastie from Sammies on Scott Street. A Kimcheese (kimchi and cheese – add a pork and fennel sausage pattie if you want) is a monumental start to anyone’s day. From there, it’s a short drive just out of town to Lawson’s Dry Hills – a pioneer of sustainable practices in Marlborough and producer of fine aromatic white wines. From here, a variation on our itinerary would be a 15-minute drive down State Highway One (SH1) to Seddon and the Awatere Valley. This sub-region is slightly cooler than the main Wairau Valley and contains many newer – and sizeable – vineyard plantings, which deliver some truly exciting wines. One of the few cellar doors here is Yealands.

But our main route heads north on SH1 for 15 minutes, crossing the Wairau river to stop off the roundabout at Tuamarina to visit the memorial to the Wairau Affray of 1843 and a glimpse of the country’s often violent colonial past.

From Tuamarina, head back the way you came and turn right onto Rapaura Road at Spring Creek where a number of wineries have their cellar doors. We suggest the pan-regional Saint Clair and idiosyncratic Rock Ferry on the way to a tasting and lunch at Cloudy Bay on Jacksons Road. One of Marlborough’s flagship brands, owned by French luxury goods giant LVMH, its cellar door will impress even the most corporate-cynical.

From Cloudy Bay, get back onto Rapaura Road and head west (and then south) to Renwick. There are many wineries on this stretch, so how many you have time for will depend on how long that lunch was.

The proudly organic Te Whare Ra is one of Marlborough’s must-visit wineries and Framingham has a well-deserved reputation for its Rieslings. Hans Herzog produces a range of unexpected varieties and wines, while Huia is an unsung gem. Bubbles fans can stop in at No1 Family Estate, while Nautilus provides a glimpse into day 2 as some of its fruit (in particular its Pinot Noir) is sourced from the Southern Valleys sub-region. And the excellent Fromm is near the airport on your 11-minute drive back to Blenheim.

Day two: Southern Valleys from Blenheim

Winemaker Jules Taylor under bird netting at The Wrekin vineyard in Brancott Valley. Credit: Lisa Duncan Photography

Fuel up for the day at Burleigh Gourmet Pies, a Marlborough landmark on the southwestern edge of Blenheim town – try the signature pork belly pie. Then, just a few hundred metres west along New Renwick Road is the turn-off for the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre (see ‘address book’, below), which includes Sir Peter Jackson’s impressive collection of World War I aircraft.

Back on New Renwick Road and the turn-off south to Auntsfield marks the first stop on our Southern Valleys wine tour where wind-blown loess has settled in the valleys and provided the clay so essential to its Pinot Noir.

Brancott Valley is the next one along and, although there are no major cellar doors, a number of producers source fruit from here, and Dog Point sits at the base of the ridge that separates Brancott Valley from Omaka Valley. At the head of the Brancott Valley lie two vineyards with stellar reputations: Clayvin, now part of Giesen, and The Wrekin. The latter’s excellent organic fruit is used by numerous brands and highlighted on their wine labels, from one-man-band outfits to the more established Jules Taylor Wines.

Back onto the New Renwick Road again and continuing onto Dog Point Road, Omaka Valley is the next one along, and here you’ll find the must-visit Greywacke – make sure you book an appointment-only, no-charge tasting in advance (weekdays 11am or 2pm) by emailing through the website.

Drive back up towards Renwick to take the SH63 west a short distance before ducking down to the more expansive Waihopai Valley. Once home to the New Zealand government’s not-so-secret satellite listening facility (the huge white domes have since been dismantled, although the facility is still in operation), it also houses Spy Valley Wines and Churton – both well worth a visit, although Churton is by appointment only.

Finally, call in at nearby Clos Henri, which is owned by the Bourgeois family from Sancerre in the Loire, before heading back to Blenheim.

Day three: Picton, Nelson, Marlborough Sounds

Bay of Many Coves Resort

Time to head into the locals’ playground: the stunning Marlborough Sounds. Drive up to Picton with a quick stop at Johanneshof cellar door on the way. Once in town, park the car, check the ferry timetable and stop in at Toastie for a snack while you wait. There is a range of truly breathtaking resorts and lodges throughout the Sounds, each of which offers a variety of activities, but Punga Cove, Bay of Many Coves Resort and Furneaux Lodge are among those recommended.

The more adventurous early-riser might want to combine this leg with a spot of guided kayaking or a stint on the Queen Charlotte Track, a 71km-long walking and biking track running from Anakiwa, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound in the south (about 30 minutes’ drive from Picton) to Meretoto/Ship Cove in the north of the Sounds. A local operator such as Wilderness Guides should steer you in the right direction.

Once you’ve chosen your activity, board the ferry, or bike, walk or paddle your way to your chosen destination. Then, whether you’ve hiked, paddled, snorkeled, sailed or cycled – or merely strolled the jetty – it’s time to sit back and relax with a glass of Marlborough wine.

Credit: Maggie Nelson

Your Marlborough address book

Marlborough Wine & Food Festival. Credit: Richard Briggs

Accommodation

14th Lane
Ideally located in central Blenheim. Formerly The Builder’s Arms, the views aren’t great and it boasts no restaurant or bar, but the rooms more than compensate.

Furneaux Lodge
Tucked all the way up in the stunning Marlborough Sounds, just over the hill from Captain Cook’s favourite NZ anchorage, this place is as magical in the rain as it is in the sun.

Hotel d’Urville
Full of character, both inside and out, the rear bar flows into an outside area which doesn’t quite match the inside vibe but is surprisingly comfortable on summer evenings.

Restaurants & cafés

Arbour
The fine-dining Marlborough experience on everyone’s lips, winemakers included. Named NZ’s Best Regional Restaurant in 2022 by Cuisine, it also has a coveted ‘two hats’ rating from the food and drink lifestyle publication.

Frank’s Oyster Bar and Eatery
Another restaurant that comes recommended by local winemakers, you’ll find this one in central Blenheim.

The Store
In Kekerengu, a 50-minute drive south of Blenheim on SH1, its sweeping vistas across a wild coastline make it well worth the stop on the way to Christchurch.

Things to do

Festivals
The summer months of January, February and March respectively feature the Picton Maritime Festival, the Marlborough Wine & Food Festival and the Havelock Mussel and Seafood Festival.

Marlborough Farmers Market
Held on Sundays at Blenheim’s A&P showgrounds, this is a great way to enjoy a range of regional produce with a minimum of travel.

Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
A must-visit for historic aircraft enthusiasts, or for an extra-special occasion, this renowned aviation museum at Blenheim offers the chance to book a flight on a fully restored World War II-era Avro Anson – a package starting at NZ$990 (£475) per person including a 25-minute flight. Or a 20-minute flight in a Boeing Stearman biplane, costing NZ$395 (£189) for one or two people.

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Queena Wong, a prominent London wine collector, is the leader of Curious Vines – a UK-based supportive community of wine industry women that cultivates connectivity and female visibility via inclusive events, member-led newsletters and pioneering education support programmes. She was named Connector of the Year in 2023’s CODE Hospitality Women of the Year Awards.

In what way are you a wine connector?

I love putting people together. I do this within the wine industry, with collectors and also for broader hospitality. I allow the young to access the experienced, pull wine students together to have study buddies, create new social circles for consumer collectors or raise the profiles of somms further into the hospitality world. My friendships are diverse so I ‘bash’ people together who would not normally meet in their usual circles and can create incredible panels to inspire the next gen. The 360-degree nature of my own address book means combinations are endless.

What led you to it?

People are either natural connectors or not. It’s a desire to help others which drives connectors, rather than a particular experience.

What’s the best thing about your work?

The gratitude from the people I have helped and now how I can use all the connections to make an impact for good. I’m teaching a new way of operating that sharing is better than old-school turf protecting, akin to JFK’s quote, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. It allows people to build a personal boardroom by having their own varied support network to seek opinion, bounce ideas and solve problems.

What’s the most common misconception about what you do?

That I am anti-men and aggressive. I have many male friends and many who actively support what I do and help me navigate the tricky arena around gender equity. Standing firm with values and principles also seems to make me suddenly an aggressive feminist. Couldn’t be further from the truth – I hate conflict.

Also people often get confused about my roles. I am a hybrid wine person, being both a collector and a champion of hospitality as well an advocate for gender equity. It is hard work juggling them – these seemingly different spheres help each other so it has to happen together.

What’s your greatest achievement?

Creating the first UK Women in Wine Survey. Having built a female community with incredible job and age/experience diversity, it provided me with a resource pool I could reach into to assist in its construct, and the size fuelled meaningful participation.

And your greatest mistake?

Not knowing when to stop giving to others due to my lack of boundaries and not demanding value to my contributions. This has resulted in my being taken advantage of.

Do you think women still face more hurdles in the wine industry today?

Of course, though the lack of equity for women in the workforce is no different to any other industry. In addition to needing equity addressed, wine being an alcohol also places greater risks to women’s safety. I feel positive that progressive companies will start looking at the sustainability of female resource and work towards dealing with both the equity for career advancement and their safety.

What advice do you give women about how to raise their profile?

Learn to be proud of your achievements and tell others about them. Self-promotion is not boasting and the more you do it, the more your self-confidence grows. If your friends or colleagues struggle to do this, then cheerlead for them until they can take their first steps to do it on their own.

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Beth Willard, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour tasted 59 wines, with 1 Outstanding and 26 Highly recommended.

Galician whites: Panel tasting results

59 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 1

Highly recommended 26

Recommended 31

Commended 0

Fair 1

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-vintage white wines – single varietals or blends of any authorised white grapes except Albariño – from any of the five DOs in Galicia: Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, Valdeorras.

From Godello to Treixadura, Loureiro to Caiño Blanco, this tasting offered some exceptional examples of Galicia’s white wines, as well as some new discoveries and a few surprises.

Here we focused on Galicia’s treasure trove of white varieties excluding Albariño, which has already earned itself plenty of attention and been well explored in other tastings. Spanish agriculture ministry data for 2022 shows that production of white wines across the four provinces of Galicia constitutes a significant 69%, bucking the trend of the majority of regions in Spain where red varieties are more widely planted.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Galician whites panel tasting

Galician whites: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Beth Willard is involved in sourcing wines for both the on- and off-trade in the UK, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and Spain. Formerly buying manager at Direct Wines, she is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

Sarah Jane Evans MW is a Decanter contributing editor and Co-Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards. Her latest book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain (£35 Infinite Ideas) is set for release in early 2024.

Pierre Mansour is director of wine at The Wine Society, and has been buying The Society’s Spanish wines since 2008. He is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

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A region as vast and geographically complicated as Languedoc is difficult, if not impossible, to generalise about. With so many appellations, topographies, microclimates, grape varieties and terroirs, it’s more than just the sum of its parts. Languedoc has moved into a new era, extending beyond the tropes of ‘great value’ and ‘rustic, hearty reds’.

Now is the time to discover the cutting edge of what’s happening in this region. Run, don’t walk, to snap up the exciting wines of Languedoc.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 10 Languedoc wines worth seeking out

Rediscover Languedoc: 10 wines to tempt

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Rock around the croc

Cuba’s luxury Eminente brand is a relative newcomer to the world of rum, launching just three years ago. Its distinctive crocodile-skin glass bottles are inspired by Cuban crocodiles, synonymous with the island’s national identity; locals think Cuba is shaped like a crocodile, earning it the nickname Isla del Cocodrilo. The latest release, 10-year-old Eminente Gran Reserva Edition No1 (Alc 43.5%), is a follow-up to Eminente Ambar Claro (three years old) and Eminente Reserva (seven years old).

Made by César Marti, the youngest Cuban Maestro Ronero, Eminente rums are notable for the high percentage of aguardiente [‘eau-de-vie’ distilled spirit, in this case from Cuban sugar cane] in their blends. Cuban rums must contain a minimum of 7% aguardiente; Eminente Gran Reserva contains 80%, blended with light rum. The final blend is finished for three months in French oak. Aromas of roasted pineapple, butterscotch, lemon tart, ginger cake, fresh citrus. The spicy palate has notes of dark chocolate, dried orange peel, toasted coconut and ripe mango, alongside fresh grassy and woody notes. Enjoy it neat over ice. £74.25/70cl Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange.

What is… chill filtration?

A term that you may notice on whisky bottles, ‘chill-filtered’ refers to the process of cooling a barrel-matured spirit to between -10°C and 4°C, then filtering it to remove certain molecular compounds. These compounds, such as fatty esters, can make a whisky cloudy when ice or cold water is added. As well as improving the clarity of chilled whisky, fans of chill-filtration claim that it enhances the final flavour; though opponents of the technique argue it can negatively impact both taste and mouthfeel. However, blind tastings have shown there is little difference in scores for chill-filtered and non-chill-filtered whiskies.

What to drink now… Negroni Sbagliato

While the Negroni (Campari, gin and vermouth) was likely invented around 1919, the Negroni Sbagliato is a more modern affair. Sbagliato translates as ‘mistaken’ or ‘wrong’ and the story goes that Mirko Stocchetto of Bar Basso in Milan accidentally grabbed a bottle of spumante instead of gin while mixing a Negroni in the early 1970s. But Mirko’s son Maurizio, who still runs Basso, claims the recipe was developed deliberately to appeal to the increasing number of female drinkers visiting the bar. Either way, this lighter take on a Negroni found new fans when it went viral on TikTok last year, and it’s a great festive sparkling cocktail. Use Four Pillars Spiced Negroni Gin (Alc 41.8%, £37.81-£44.49/70cl Amazon, Proof Drinks, The Good Spirits Co, The Whisky Exchange, Urban Bar), an Australian spirit with Tasmanian pepperberry, cinnamon and ginger botanicals.

Negroni Sbagliato

Ingredients: 30ml Campari, 30ml sweet vermouth, 60ml Italian sparkling wine

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: Orange wheel

Method: Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled glass. Stir briefly, then garnish

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The east coast port of Catania is Sicily’s second-largest city after Palermo. Its central position means it is perfectly placed for trips south to Syracuse, Noto and Ragusa and north to Taormina and Mount Etna. As such it offers a gateway to the most interesting wine areas of eastern Sicily: to the south, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and Noto DOC for Nero d’Avola; and north for the exceptional Etna DOC wines of Carricante and Nerello Mascalese that have exploded onto the market in the past 20 years. It’s worth allowing a day or two to explore UNESCO World Heritage Catania before setting off on your wine tours.

Like so much of southeastern Sicily, Catania was decimated in 1693 by an earthquake, the destruction having been likened to London after the Great Fire of 1666. Gone were the layers of culture accumulated through centuries of Greek, Byzantine, Arab and Norman domination.

The buildings that rose from the rubble in these cities – including hundreds of churches and countless palazzi – were fortuitously built in the Baroque style, the fashion of the day. In Catania, the decorative drama is accentuated by the contrast of local black volcanic stone and white plaster and marble. The historic centre has benefited from investment in recent years and is handsomely laid out around an easy grid.

Where to stay

Treat yourself to a colourful stay in Hotel Asmundo di Gisira, a handsome palazzo with themed rooms, art collections and buyable antiques. It’s an eclectic venue with a rooftop terrace offering stunning views of the city and Etna. Hotel Bastiò Suites contrasts modern decor with an ancient building in the heart of the city.

Where to eat

Catanian traditional food is saporito (‘full of flavour’), based on seasonal vegetables grown on Etna’s mineral-rich soils, accented with salt-cured capers from Salina, local citrus and Bronte pistachios. Breakfast in summer is a fruit-driven frozen granita eaten with a pillowy brioche. Lunch in town at Antica Marina, one of the restaurants built within the walls of the central fish market. It features seafood raw and cooked, pasta with squid ink or the day’s catch and a decent local wine list. A more staid dinner can be had at La Siciliana, where traditional dishes shine in a wood-panelled interior. My favourite is pasta alla Norma, named for native son Vincenzo Bellini’s courageous opera heroine. It features tomato sauce, fried aubergines and ricotta salata cheese.

Where to drink

The most complete collection of Sicilian wines and speciality foods can be found at Nelson. Two locations in the same street offer an inspiring shop and wine bar. The shop is a dream: hundreds of Sicilian wines from every corner of its islands, along with oils pressed from native olives including Tonda Iblea and Nocellara del Belice, lemon honey, pistachio creams, cheeses, legumes and much more. Its website is great and the best thing is that it will ship, so you can have a weight-free spree. Under the archway is Nelson’s newly opened wine bar where almost all these wines are offered by the glass accompanied by local cheeses and other snacks in a relaxed interior. If you’re after informal food, wine and cocktails, try Uzeta Bistro Siciliano and enjoy the city’s best arancini or a plate of pasta on a lively outside terrace.

Places to visit

My favourite place to stay is about 25 minutes’ drive north from Catania, at Maugeri winery, where architect Carla Maugeri’s family makes wine on Etna’s eastern slopes. Zash is its spectacular boutique hotel, set in citrus groves. She has designed the villa’s 10 stylish rooms and spa and created an unforgettable one-star Michelin restaurant in what was the estate’s palmento: the vast stone vinification barn that once produced the family’s wine. It’s complete with vaulted ceilings and the original press, crafted from a centuries-old chestnut trunk – a perfect mix of old and new with elegant food and wines.

Credit: Tom McLeish

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So you’re throwing a party. Of course you are. It’s that time of year, after all. And you’ll need to get the drinks organised. You enjoy a decent bottle of wine, and know a fair bit about it. You wouldn’t be reading this otherwise. So whatever other options you’re considering for the lo-no/designated driver/cocktails/craft beer crowd, the wine is likely to be your responsibility (and let’s face it, who needs an excuse to go out and buy lots of nice wine?).

So here are a few suggestions, pulled together by the party-loving Decanter team – all wines we’ve run across at recent tastings, which we’d serve at our own parties. They’re all affordable at £20 or under, and should be fairly easy to find.

Surprise the wine connoisseur in your life this Christmas!

Pitching it right

But to start, a few hints on party etiquette. No, not ‘don’t do that dance with the lampshade on your head again’, though that’s useful to keep in mind.

First, think of your guests. If your social circle is anything like ours, there will be a few knowledgeable wine enthusiasts, a few who are interested but less educated, some who like what they know and know what they like, and the inevitable smattering of those who might accidentally take a swig from a nearby vase of flowers without noticing the difference.

So it’s not an occasion to go overboard on the fine wines. That bottle of 1982 Mouton Rothschild can stay securely locked away in the cellar.

Your choice should be reasonably mainstream, too; the ‘interesting’ natural wine that smells of overripe barnyard, the headache-inducing 16.5% abv red and the semi-sweet curiosity from the East of Azerbaijan are probably treats for another time. You don’t have to stick to supermarket standards and well-known labels, but the reaction you’re aiming for is ‘this is nice, what is it?’, not ‘what on Earth is this?’.

Also think about food. Or rather, don’t. You’re looking for wines that will work on their own, or with a wide variety of flavours if you’re serving snacks and canapés. Something that only works well with cheese or fish is way too specialised.

And then there’s the season to consider. It’s winter, so you could happily lean towards more robust wines – though easy-drinking lighter whites are a perennial standby, and pale rosé has escaped its summer-only designation to be a year-round favourite.

And the last hint? Don’t take it all too seriously. While you may be very proud of your carefully chosen selection, this is clearly a time to wear your knowledge lightly – after all, a party is all about conversations and connections, and the wine should be an accompaniment (even better, enhancement) to that rather than the main event. But what if anybody refuses your wine and insists on drinking that bottle of £4.99 plonk they brought with them? Well, you know where the door is.

Winter party wines: 25 at £20 or under

Wines chosen by members of the Decanter team

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For centuries, pubs have been the backbone of our society, hubs and sanctuaries for connecting people and communities. There’s something so quintessentially British about sitting in a pub garden in the sunshine, or in a comfy chair next to a roaring fire, I don’t think it can be replicated beyond our shores.

It’s been 10 years since my first cookbook Proper Pub Food came out, and this new book invites you into my Pub Kitchen today. It’s a continuation of that first book and a celebration of how far we’ve come as a culinary nation. British pub food has become so strong over the past decade or so, and it’s been really exciting to see.

I’m so proud to be part of such an eclectic and continually evolving food scene. Wherever you are in the country, you can find fantastic local gastropubs with super-tasty dishes on the menu.

Onglet steak with green peppercorn sauce

Onglet (also called beef skirt or hanger steak) is prized for its flavour, but you’ll need to time the cooking carefully as it can become tough if overdone. The steak goes really well with this peppery, creamy sauce flavoured with brandy, herbs and spinach. The brilliant, vibrant colour is also something truly special.

Serves two

Ingredients

• 2 onglet steaks (200g each)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt and freshly ground pepper

For the green peppercorn sauce

• 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp green peppercorns
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 100ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 sprigs tarragon, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 75g baby spinach (2 large handfuls), roughly chopped
• 200ml double cream

Method

1. Take the onglet steaks out of the fridge 30 minutes before you intend to cook, to bring them to room temperature. Drizzle them with the olive oil and season.
2. Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over a high heat. When it is smoking hot, place the steaks in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on their thickness. You want a deep brown crust on each side and the steaks should still be springy to the touch.
3. Take the pan off the heat and add the butter to it. Baste the steaks with the melted butter for 2 minutes, keeping the pan off the heat. Transfer the steaks to a warmed plate, spoon over half of the pan juices and set aside to rest in a warm place.
4. Meanwhile, place the frying pan back over a medium heat, add the shallot and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in half the green peppercorns along with the brandy and simmer until the liquor is totally reduced. Now pour in the beef stock and simmer until it is reduced by half. Add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, herbs, spinach and half of the cream. Stir well until the spinach is wilted.
5. Transfer the sauce to a small food processor and blitz until smooth. Pour this back into the pan and add the remaining green peppercorns and cream. Stir well over a medium heat for 1 minute then remove from the heat. Pour any resting juices from the steak plate into the cream sauce and stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Carve the onglet steaks into thick slices. Spoon some sauce on to the warmed serving plates and pour the remaining sauce into two small jugs. Lay each sliced steak on the pool of sauce. Serve at once, with the extra sauce, chunky chips and/or green beans.

Extract taken from Pub Kitchen: The Ultimate Modern British Food Bible by Tom Kerridge (£27 hardback, Bloomsbury Absolute, September 2023)

The wines to drink with onglet steak with green peppercorn sauce

The key to this pairing is not so much the cut of beef as the sauce. Green peppercorns may stand out as the headline ingredient but there are many other flavours: brandy, beef stock, mustard, tarragon, chives, spinach and – and this is significant – quite a lot of cream, which will temper the spiciness of the peppercorns. I’d be tempted to go for a full-bodied red Burgundy from a warm vintage or a similar Pinot from elsewhere – Oregon, maybe, or Central Otago – but you could serve a fleshy Bordeaux – maybe a St-Emilion satellite. (I tend not to field peppery Syrahs with peppercorn sauces as one cancels out the other.) If you wanted to play to the cut’s humble origins you could serve a rustic red like a Marcillac or maybe even a Mencía. I wouldn’t be averse to a good cool-climate Chardonnay either, particularly with the tarragon, mustard and cream, though that may well offend traditionalists. An occasion, though, where you can serve white wine with red meat.

By Fiona Beckett

Wines selected by our Decanter experts

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It was pure and driving in the mouth, clearly acid-structured and hence intense – yet age had brought a softening, a tenderness, a singing quality. This was not a harsh, abrupt wine to sip but, like the aromas, expansive; poised yet mellow. Indeed the aromatic trace of the fruit on the tongue had a perfumed lift: an uncommon trait, but always lovely.

The wine was so refined and choice that I swallowed, greedily and unprofessionally – and thought of the vineyard I had just walked through. The way it looked. That mass of bright limestone pebbles in a nourishing matrix of loamy clay… I’ve seen that before. Hmm… hang on a minute…

I try to avoid facile comparisons of this sort. Every vineyard and every wine-growing region is unique: itself and only itself, subject to its own laws of site and sky and season, freighted down with its own disasters and joys. And yet, and yet. I was 6,000km from the Côte d’Or, but this glass of Pinot and the mental image I retained of its vineyard insisted on some sort of comparison. The wine? Norman Hardie’s Unfiltered County Pinot Noir 2014 from Prince Edward County in Canada’s Ontario.

I should stress the differences. The Ontario wine had just 10.5% alcohol. That’s a minus for me: I like alcohol and the wealth, warmth and emotion it sends coursing through a wine (and my veins). This wine, though, had perfect balance, its resonant acidity matched by the inner sweetness and length which can only come from teased, full-season ripeness and its sage gift of alcohol. It didn’t taste short, like an early-picked wine from a warmer site.

‘You can’t duplicate maturity,’ as Hardie’s fellow winemaker Keith Tyers at Closson Chase says. ‘You can’t replace the texture.’

In autumn 2014, the wine’s mother vines had come through the first of two brutal, vine-killing Canadian winters. Prince Edward County is a broad, water-incised peninsula, almost an island, dangling like a broad-shouldered bunch of grapes into Lake Ontario from its northern shoreline.

Unlike the Niagara Peninsula, on the other side of the lake and down at the western end, Prince Edward County has water on the southern side only. To the north lies the Arctic. Its winters are almost boreal. As in China’s Ningxia, the vines must be buried through the dark months, like hibernating chipmunks.

‘If I’d known,’ says Hardie’s fellow Pinoteer Colin Stanners of the eponymous winery, ‘how difficult this business of hilling up and preparing for the winter is, I might never have started here. It really limits our yields; with hilling you never get more than 70% recovered buds.’

Higher yields are possible by creating little geotextile tents over the pruned canes, as many of their fellow growers now do. For all that, Hardie prefers hilling; the clay, he says, that provides the matrix for the region’s limestone needs (in this climate) to be moved and aerated.

‘The County’, as it’s known, doesn’t just produce fine Pinot from the likes of Hardie and Stanners. The Closson Chase Chardonnays are excellent; Pinot Gris can be good if terse; and Jonas Newman and Vicki Samaras at Hinterland have been making impressive sparkling wine, led by an exceptional blanc de blancs.

Everyone, though, faces the same challenges from the weather, with intermittent winter vine kill and inconsistent summers occasionally producing vintage wipeouts. It’s not certain that global warming will help, since the depth of Lake Ontario (244m at its deepest; that’s 802 feet) holds change in check. Optimism is always tempered here. ‘There’s no fake news,’ Hardie says, ‘from Mother Nature.’

They all keep going, though, just waiting for those generous vintages and the occasional glimpses of greatness and glory they imply. Wine places that can give drinkers greatness and glory in a glass, no matter how occasional, are rare.

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As the two smallest communal appellations in the Médoc region, after the big four of St-Estéphe, St-Julien, Pauillac and Margaux, Moulis and Listrac may not carry the same name recognition or prestige as their more famous neighbours on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, but these are the places to look for happy, characterful and food-friendly wines at accessible prices (often under or around £20 per bottle).

Scroll down for Georgie Hindle’s pick of 18 wines to try from Moulis & Listrac

See Georgie Hindle’s pick of 18 wines to try from Moulis and Listrac

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Telling people I was heading on a work trip to the Niagara Peninsula, in Canada’s eastern province of Ontario, the response was invariably ‘oh, for the Icewine’. Even friends from my birth city of Ottawa, Canada’s capital and a 5.5-hour drive from the heart of the winelands, were surprised that anything else would lure a wine writer across the pond.

Just as there are lingering outdated perceptions that all Sherry and German Riesling is sweet and old fashioned, it seems there’s still a way to go to convince the general public that Ontario has many (many) more strings to its winemaking bow.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores of 20 Ontario Chardonnay wines to try

While growers planted the first vinifera vines of the modern era in 1974, with the first winery licence post-prohibition registered in 1975, the Ontario wine industry didn’t really kick off domestically until the 1990s. The first wine (yes, an Icewine) didn’t hit British shelves until 2001, and by 2013 – only a decade ago – there were still only three Ontario wineries exporting still wines to the UK.

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Quite understandably, the people of Rome take a visceral pride in their city – its history and wealth of attractions are unparalleled. Vast monuments, columns and other relics from ancient times are everywhere, sometimes even incorporated into Renaissance architecture. The river Tiber is a noble presence, dividing the main centre from districts such as lively Trastevere and the Vatican.

Where to stay

There’s a gentlemen’s club atmosphere at Hotel de’ Ricci, a wine lover’s paradise with in-room wine coolers and huge reproduction wine labels on the walls. Tasting dinners, producer evenings and private tastings are organised.

Where to eat

Rome’s hearty and flavoursome typical cuisine dominates menus at restaurants and informal trattorias throughout the centre. Favourite pasta dishes include cacio e pepe, carbonara and amatriciana; there are many offal-based dishes and vegetable specialities such as fried artichokes and sautéed chicory, too. Near Piazza di Spagna, try them at family-run Matricianella which also serves lamb in various ways and offers an extensive and informative wine list. SoraLella, a local institution on Isola Tiberina island, is especially famed for its coda alla vaccinara (oxtail).

Where to drink

If Rome’s concentration of culture gets overwhelming, take refuge at one of the city’s many wine bars. At Vineria Trapizzino in the colourful Trastevere district only the region’s wines, including a wide choice of Cesanese reds, are served. Although it’s rare to find wine lists such as this, dedicated exclusively to Lazio wines, there are always a few. Il Goccetto also offers olive oil tasting, speciality charcuterie and cheeses and pieces of pie in an old-style interior with wooden tables and bar stools. In the popular Monti neighbourhood, historic Ai Tre Scalini has a lively vibe, an ever-changing selection of wines by the glass and snacks such as coppiette (spicy cured pork strips) or meatballs in tomato sauce.

Places to visit

When visiting Rome’s Palatine Hill, don’t miss the walled Vigna Barberini. Nine rows of indigenous white grape variety Bellone grow among fruit trees, olives and ancient remains where Renaissance aristocrats once grew grapes and produce (see: colosseo.it). The vines are tended by the admirably run cooperative Cincinnato based at Cori, a charming historic hill town south of the city. Its own Bellone makes a moreish herb-fresh sip; try, too, the juicy red local variety Nero Buono di Cori.

Nearer Rome, the Castelli Romani area has drawn city dwellers for centuries for its lakes and villages with colourful taverns serving tasty specialities, such as porchetta (rolled pork loin). Here in the hills around Frascati city there’s been a move towards the less productive but more characterful Malvasia Puntinata variety in place of the previously popular Malvasia di Candia for Frascati Superiore DOCG. At his Villa Simone, consultant winemaker Lorenzo Costantini makes some memorable versions.

The widespread Roma DOC area that surrounds the city makes for a great variety of wines and a wide choice of out-of-town wineries to visit. One is the small, family-run Terre del Veio winery within Parco di Veio, a protected area with Etruscan remains north of Rome. Natural tuff caves make ideal ageing cellars and tastings of wines – such as the Roma DOC Malvasia Puntinata – under the pergola are memorable occasions. At 13th-century Castello di Torre in Pietra west of the city, the entire wine cellar, along with an atmospheric restaurant, has been built into a hill of volcanic tuff. Its Roma DOC Rosso incorporates a different variety each year added to Sangiovese and the required 50% Montepulciano, which is known locally as Violone.

The region’s star red grape is the fruity and tannic Cesanese. The variety (or rather two: Cesanese Comune and Cesanese di Affile) is most at home east of Rome around the villages of Piglio, Affile and Olevano Romano.

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Winemaker Rachel Lipman of Loew Vineyards works with local beekeepers to gather black locust honey. Its character changes year-to-year depending on the weather that season. Drought or heat produces darker honey. In rainy years, it might be lighter. Slight humidity without rain, more fragrant. The quality of the honey depends on the vintage.

Several weeks later, the grape harvest begins. Lipman gathers Muscat Canelli and Vidal Blanc from vineyards in the area and presses them together, the juice tasting of mixed flowers, mangoes and nectarines.

Simultaneously, she brews the honey with water in a style uncommon for American mead makers but followed by her family for generations in Central Europe, where they were famous for honey wine until World War II. Once warm, the honey water is combined with the freshly pressed juice, and the two are fermented together until dry. Barrel-aged for nine months, the elixir is bottled under the name Klara, after Lipman’s great-grandmother.

The surprise of Klara is its elegance and length. Its layered aromatics lead to a palate of harmony and nuance, bringing together floral notes with a very light, potpourri-like spice, stone fruits and a pleasantly piquant, mouthwatering finish. The flavours allude to honey yet avoid sweetness.

Thoughts of Klara have somehow followed me since first tasting it more than a year ago, coming to mind at least weekly for its complexity and distinctive origins. I’ve enjoyed it with multiple meals, alongside hamachi crudo (a garnished, thin-sliced yellowtail fish dish), spring pea risotto, game hen and rice, and I have talked to more people about it than I care to admit.

Hugh Johnson famously defined fine wine as wine worth talking about. Most fine wine circles assume it applies only to Vitis vinifera varieties. Wine, after all, is fermented from fruit; fine wine, from wine grapes. Klara would seem to break multiple rules. It includes the French-American hybrid Vidal Blanc and is partly made from fermented honey. Yet it also offers the complexity and brilliance of fine white wine.

So, where do we draw the line? Though sake is sometimes called rice wine, and mead honey wine, the reference is more affectionate than literal. Both are brewed, then fermented beverages. It is often argued each resembles beer more than wine. But unlike beer, sake uses mould, not malt, to convert starch from polished rice into sugar for fermentation. In mead, sugar is derived from honey mixed with water. Style and historical tradition determine differing proportions and temperatures as the elements are combined. Because of their distinctive processes, sake and mead are each considered their own category. And while I’ve had sake and mead worth talking about, I wouldn’t call either fine wine.

Johnson himself said part of the appeal of his definition is that it’s not attached to historic price or reputation. That seems to allow for unexpected exceptions. The Klara is neither pure mead nor pure wine but a synchronicity of the two, which may be part of its elevation. Just as not every wine achieves fine wine status, not every honey-grape ferment will become such an exception.

Lipman’s experience guided this combination. She brews mead in her ancestors’ tradition and makes wine from Maryland grapes; she surmised that the high-tone elements of the grapes might lift the woodsy character of the honey into a synthesis that surpasses what each delivers alone.

The result is a memorable expression of inland Maryland and a tribute to Lipman and her family. It also demonstrates the value of an open mind when it comes to fine wine. It’s the unexpected that so often gives us wine worth talking about.

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Get through the working week, and it’s time to crack open something a little bit more special.

Wines for the weekend: November 2023

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The Decanter in-house tasting team spends an awful lot of time out and about at tastings, finding new and exciting wines, or new vintages of existing wines, for everyday drinking. On these pages we bring you 25 top picks that are all ready to drink now, available in the UK and priced at £20 or less.

This month’s highlights

Must-try white: Brokenwood, The Society’s Exhibition Hunter Valley Semillon, New South Wales, Australia 2018

Must-try red: Brookdale, Mason Road Syrah, Paarl, South Africa 2020

High street choice: Santa Tresa, Rina Russa Organic Frappato, Vittoria, Sicily, Italy 2022 

As a companion selection to our 25 wines under £20, the Decanter team has selected seven standout bottles that are sure to impress, all available in the UK and priced between £20 and £50.

Wines for the week: November 2023

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Sweeping from above the Atlantic ocean-kissed shores of La Rochelle, down the Gironde estuary towards the fêted vineyards of Bordeaux – and reaching far inland through forest, rivers and wheat fields – the Cognac region at first seems mind-bogglingly vast. But while this wide expanse may be one of France’s largest grape-planted areas, the good news for travellers is that there’s a clear first-timer’s itinerary to discovering its liquid treasures. Simply make for the heart of the action in the premium central sub-regions of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, and the twin spirit-soaked communes of Cognac and Jarnac, for a long weekend of tastings, cellar tours and laid-back exploring.

Covering some 13,000ha in the centre of the Cognac region – and bordering Cognac town – Grande Champagne has highly chalky soils relative to other sub-regions and picturesque vistas of low vine-lined hills. With its white stone buildings along the squiggling river Charente, Cognac town makes a fine base for your explorations, both for its proximity to major houses and its smattering of lovely sights, from half-timbered homes to old cloisters. Conversely, sleepier Jarnac, a 10-minute train ride or 20-minute drive away on the borders of Petite Champagne, has sun-flecked spaces dominated by the grand frontage of Courvoisier and unassuming corners housing the likes of Hine and Louis Royer. Beyond these two communes, countless other small villages radiate outwards with cellars and tasting rooms both big and small, ripe for discovery if you have the time.

Credit: Maggie Nelson

Tasting experiences

The atmospheric ageing cellars of Delamain in Jarnac

Given the punchier nature of a Cognac tasting in comparison to wine, you’ll likely only want two or three stops a day – which means being selective among the 280 or so regional producers. Wherever your stylistic preferences lie, it’s almost mandatory to begin with the house that’s synonymous with the Cognac category: Hennessy (see ‘My perfect day’, below). Responsible for about 40% of all regional production, the LVMH-owned brand’s rambling facilities are set over a series of vast buildings in the heart of Cognac. Tours come in every shape and size: join a shuttle boat across the river Charente to discover Hennessy through a digital art installation, sampling the characteristically spicy VSOP on a two-hour group tour (€29 per person, times vary so check and book ahead); or cycle through the vineyards ahead of a superb picnic lunch from the kitchens of chef Thierry Verrat, owner of one-star Michelin restaurant La Ribaudière (€130 per person, €65 picnic supplement).

A 15-minute walk away from Hennessy, and somewhat more modest in scale, family-owned Bache Gabrielsen has its headquarters in a small townhouse on tranquil Rue Louis Dominique. In the historic offices where respected Master Blender Jean-Philippe Bergier works his magic, old wooden cupboards line walls and samples from local bouilleurs de cru (‘grower-distillers’) clutter desks awaiting consideration for future assemblages (‘blends’). Join a tour of the onsite cellar, spotting precious demijohns of old vintages and sampling through the smooth and complex range (free of charge). If you’ve the cash, you can even buy your own barrel for bottling when the time is right.

Over in nearby Jarnac, your essential stop is the highly respected Delamain, blending elegant, long-aged Cognacs from an elite selection of farmer-growers around the region with spirit distilled from its own vineyards. The time-warp ageing rooms, filled with barrels and demijohns, are among the most atmospheric to be found in all of Cognac, and private cellar dining experiences with tastings of signature Pale & Dry XO, as well as highly limited Pléiade collection bottlings, let you soak it up to the fullest.

And beyond

Frédéric Bourgoin, whose family vineyards provide a friendly stop-off. Credit: Quentin Petit

Now, venture into the countryside. Set just outside scenic castle town Bouteville among spectacular, meandering country roads, Jean-Luc Pasquet is a small husband and wife set-up operating as both bouilleur de cru and blender. Working organically across about 15ha, mostly of Folle Blanche and Ugni Blanc, they encourage biodiversity on site and distil in their historic farmyard building. Settle into the tasting room sofa with American-born Amy Pasquet and savour the appley four-year-old L’Organic or spicy, leathery 10-year-old.

An innovator of another breed in the commune of Ars, Maison Ferrand was founded in its current form by Burgundian Alexandre Gabriel – the brain behind the refined and dynamic Plantation Rum range – in 1989. The focus is not only on quality but on crafting unique, consumer-friendly bottlings such as 10 Générations, aged partly in ex-Sauternes casks, and Double Cask Réserve, rested in barrels that formerly held Banyuls. There is not officially a visitor centre, but some visitors are welcomed by appointment; enquire via the website.

For one more boutique stop-off, consider Bourgoin Cognac, just outside Angoulême, a Charente city you may recognise for its starring role in Wes Anderson’s film The French Dispatch. The ‘micro barrel’ XO range produced from family vineyards is decadent, nutty and accomplished – and a first-rate bottled verjus (unripe grape juice) for cooking or cocktail making is also produced. Join a 90-minute ‘safari’ in the vines (€75 per person) for the most comprehensive experience.

Ultimately, wherever you choose to stop off in Cognac, you’ll discover a range of delicious – and often excellent-value – aged eaux-de-vie that show exactly why the spirit is held in such high esteem. And unlike many wine regions, Cognac can be an enticing prospect in winter – not only for the pleasure of sipping a fragrant VSOP by a roaring hotel fire, but because distillation takes place between October and March (Jean-Luc Pasquet, for example, is even known to invite some visitors to take part in the process if booked as a special package: contact directly to enquire).

Saying that, if you want sunshine, spring is the loveliest time. The leaves are green on the vines, the sun bathes walks along the Charente river and the mood is jovial. Even if you’ve never been much of a Cognac drinker, a few days in this fascinating region will quickly have you entranced.

Your Cognac address book

The luxurious towered Domaine des Etangs.

Accommodation

Domaine des Etangs

East of Cognac town, this luxurious, turreted château hotel is nestled on rambling farmland with lakes, cattle and large-scale sculpture. Decor is contemporary and art=forward, and an honesty bar stocks sublime, vanilla-noted Bourgoin Cognac.

Hȏtel Chais Monnet & Spa

Locations don’t get more prime: right in the heart of Cognac town centre. Set within former cellars reworked into a sculptural, contemporary vision of glass and steel, also ticking boxes for its Michelin-starred restaurant (see ‘Les Foudres’, below), elegant spa and list of local experiences, ranging from private tours to bike rides through vineyards.

Le Relais de Saint-Preuil

For a cosy traditional manor house atmosphere, coddled in vines in between Cognac and Angoulême. A suntrap pool awaits for post-tasting relaxation in summer, while roaring open fires warm in cooler months.

Restaurants

Le Verre y Table

A few steps from Jarnac rail station, this  modernist, conceptual dining space dishes up the likes of Charron mussels with pineau, or trout with squid ink and lemongrass. A €29 set lunch menu is great value, and any time of day the extensive Cognac menu is welcome.

Les Foudres

Located in a former ageing warehouse, this one-star Michelin restaurant has distinct local flair. Menus include the likes of caviar butter with seaweed brioche, asparagus with coffee and Martell Cognac creme, or stone bass with cream bottarga and potatoes.

Poulpette

With a concise menu and contemporary platings, this Cognac town restaurant, located a short walk from the Charente river, is a favourite with locals thanks to its regularly changing market menu. Wash it all down with a wine list featuring cult producers.

Things to do

Abbaye de Bassac

With more than a thousand years of history, this rambling stone abbey outside Jarnac gives insight into Benedictine lifestyle and French architectural styles from Romanesque to Baroque. Its wealth of delightful outside spaces are perfect for wandering around in the spring and summer months.

Le Baume de Bouteville

This artisan vinegar producer uses locally grown grapes in its production and ages its balsamic-style concoctions in ex-Cognac barrels. Join a tour and tasting (with fresh oysters, if desired) at its boutique headquarters under the shadow of Bouteville’s château.

River cruises

Tour the snaking river Charente aboard electro-solar boat Bernard Palissy III, setting off west of Cognac town and taking in cobbled settlements, farmers’ fields and sun-sparkled water

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After a challenging 2020 vintage, 2021 arrived in this key region in California’s Central Coast with near-perfect conditions, though with lower than ideal yields. Where successful, the best examples showed power and balance with acidity as a welcome foil.

Jason Haas, proprietor at Tablas Creek Vineyard, calls 2021 in Paso Robles ‘the recipe for a really great, blockbuster-style vintage’ and ‘as you would if you could design a vintage from scratch’.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 30 standout Paso Robles 2021 wines

For many, bud break in 2021 was earlier than normal, there were no major heat spikes, and it was a relatively long growing season and ripening cycle, because the beginning of the season was so early.

Paso Robles 2021: 30 standout wines

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The post Paso Robles 2021: Vintage report and top 30 wines appeared first on Decanter.

Unified Italy’s first capital and the historical home of the Savoy dynasty, Turin is one of the country’s most beautiful cities. There’s an air of understated refinement throughout its wide avenues and elegant piazzas surrounded by Baroque palazzi and historic cafes. The Valentino park stretches alongside the river Po, a majestic presence flowing through the centre, while the Mole Antonelliana building with its landmark spire hosts an exceptional cinema museum.

Where to stay

Connect with Turin’s innate style with a stay at Palazzo del Carretto. The beautiful, spacious interiors feature original 17th-century decoration enhanced by occasional contemporary art and design elements. Rooms have coffee machines, apartments have kitchens and there’s private parking.

Where to eat

Among Turin’s favourite winter-warmer dishes are Barolo or Barbera-braised beef and bagna cauda – a hot sauce of garlic, anchovies and olive oil, for dipping raw vegetables. They’re best enjoyed at neighbourhood trattorias of modest city districts such as Porta Palazzo, home to a vast daily market, and San Salvario where Scannabue is popular for its delicious cuisine and attractive dark green-themed decor. Classic dishes include agnolotti (meat-filled pasta), there’s homemade gelato and an intriguing selection of more than 800 wines.

On the eastern side of the river Po, the charming Borgo Po district stretches up the hill with inviting options such as Trattoria Decoratori e Imbianchini, hosted in the appealing house and garden of the historic guild of painters and decorators and serving tasty traditional dishes including much-loved vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce) with Piedmont wines.

Back over the river in the city centre, opposite Palazzo Carignano, Italy’s first parliament, one-star Michelin Ristorante Del Cambio dates from the mid-18th century; Italy’s first prime minister Cavour was a regular. Visit the atmospheric wine cellar and opt for the historic dining room or exclusive chef’s table.

Where to drink

Turin is wonderfully well-off for wine bars, and thanks to the Piedmont region’s 19 DOCG, 41 DOC wines and some 30 native grape varieties in all, it can draw on a supply of local wines that’s hard to match for quality and diversity. Piedmont wines are celebrated each autumn with multiple events within the Vendemmia a Torino – Grapes in Town festival held across some of the city’s loveliest locations.

Alta Langa DOCG traditional-method sparklers open most wine lists and while these are Pinot Nero and/or Chardonnay, lesser-known local varieties are ever-more popular. Fresh white wines such as Nascetta, Favorita and Erbaluce are holding their own among well-established Arneis and Cortese, while youthful, fruity reds such as Grignolino, Freisa and Pelaverga are gaining popularity alongside classic Barolo, Barbaresco and other versions of Nebbiolo.

The Rossorubino wine bar-store, run by the Gazzera brothers, stocks a pretty exhaustive range. It’s extremely active with tastings and events, 15 or more wines are available by the glass and there’s a lunchtime menu. Only Piedmont wines are served, many sourced direct from small producers, at relaxed Caffé-Vini Emilio Ranzini (@caffeviniemilioranzini), where the simple, old-style decor is unchanged since the owners’ grandfather’s day. Snacks include platters, fritters and meatballs.

Places to visit

Crossing the river via the Vittorio Emanuele I bridge, the views over the city from the stately 17th-century Villa della Regina are magnificent. One of Turin’s 22 Savoy residences, it was built to the ancient Roman model and Filippo Juvarra contributed to the lavish interior renovation. After 150 years of abandonment, the villa’s Vigna della Regina plot of Freisa vines was restored in the early 2000s by the Balbiano family, whose winery is further out from the city, at Andezeno near Chieri. Since early 2023, vineyard management has passed to the owner of Ristorante Del Cambio and Orsolina28, a winery in Monferrato, east of Turin, that hosts dance retreats and gardening therapy experiences. ‘We will certainly be making a dedicated wine with Vigna della Regina grapes,’ says agronomist Umberto Bonifacino, ‘and we plan to offer vineyard experiences, to share the incredible patrimony of which we’re lucky enough to be custodians.’

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