Alice Bonaccorsi's extraordinary 18th century terraced vineyards (Photo Simon Woolf)

Return to the Volcano

Simon J Woolf
Feature Stories
4 min read
Almost five years ago, I visited Mount Etna for the first time. Back in 2012, it already seemed like the world's most famous volcanic wine region was exploding in terms of global interest, having transitioned from near abandonment in the 1980s to 60 serious producers. But that was only the beginning.

The Good Wines of Lirac

Jill Barth
Feature Stories
7 min read
I’m in a vineyard on top of a graceful hill overlooking the Rhône River from the right bank. Right bank meaning not Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In the Southern Rhône Cru Lirac. The morning was incredibly rainy; driving to Lirac from Avignon, water poured down the sloped roads and normally-sunny Provence was saturated.
jordan-champagne

California’s Champagne Affair

Roger Morris
Feature Stories
7 min read
Can California wineries make Champagne? Of course they can! Over the past three years, at least four California wineries have started doing so. Before I get sabered by a regiment of WSET candidates for dealing in alternative facts, let me hasten to add that these Californians are making their signature