News
South Africa
Carbonics an ’emblem for the new wave of [Cape] winemakers’
Ever wondered about the science behind carbonic maceration? Malu Lambert gets into it in her article “The quantum mechanics of carbonics,” with a focus on wines from Eben Sadie and Lukas Van Loggerenberg. Lambert also highlights the impetus for the whole-cluster movement. “In South Africa whole-cluster winemaking takes on another shape outside of winery walls: […]
Read More
Podcast
South Africa
Episode 10 – Mark Stephens (Deep Rooted Wines)
Episode 10 is with Mark Stephens of Deep Rooted Wines based in Walker Bay, South Africa. Mark is a regenerative viticulturist-turned-winemaker and is a prominent figure in the Cape South Coast’s new wave. The South Coasters – as they call themselves – are an exciting group of winemakers whose energy and enthusiasm resemble that of the Swartland […]
Read More
South Africa
Reenen Borman of Boschkloof named Cape Winemakers Guild member
Reenen Borman of Boschkloof and Patatsfontein was recently announced as a new Cape Winemakers Guild member. Membership is by invitation only and many of South Africa’s leading winemakers are members of the Guild. The CWG meets regularly as a technical tasting group, providing its members with an opportunity to evaluate wines from around the world […]
Read More
Podcast
*Bonus* Episode 9 – Ronnie Sanders (Vine Street Imports)
Normally, this podcast tells the stories of the winermakers in the Vine Street Imports wine portfolio, but today we have a special guest for you, and while he wears many hats, winemaker isn’t one of them. This holiday bonus episode is with Ronnie Sanders, Vine Street Imports’ founder and CEO. In today’s show, we discuss […]
Read More
Wine Press
‘Dry January’ reading on the science of low and no-alcohol wines
For Club Oenologique, Jacapo Mazzeo chats with winemakers from across the globe about how to make high-quality low and no-abv wines. Vacuum distillation, a process that lowers the boiling point of ethanol, is the most popular choice by winemakers. Mazzeo elaborates that vacuum distillation is performed at “reduced pressure, which significantly lowers ethanol’s boiling point. […]
Read More
England
Podcast
Episode 8 – Trevor Clough (Digby Fine English)
Trevor Clough is the owner and head blender at Digby Fine English based in West Sussex, England. Digby is a sparkling wine brand, and they’re the first wine producer to operate under the négociant, or blending house, model in England. This means they source their grapes from growers in places like Kent, Sussex, and Dorset, and blend […]
Read More
Australia
Podcast
Episode 7 – Steve Crawford (Frederick Stevenson)
Frederick Stevenson is the brainchild (and longtime alias) of Steve Crawford. Steve launched this small-scale winery based in Adelaide, Australia as an antidote to the industrial scale and trophy winemaking that he felt had overwhelmed the Aussie wine scene. What Steve prefers to make and drink are the fresher, livelier styles he had become accustomed to […]
Read More
Australia
‘No individual has changed the image of Riverland more’
Australia’s Riverland is an area known for its high-volume production, and, when combined with areas like Murray-Darling, is often considered The Land of Yellow Tail. But Ashley Ratcliff of Ricca Terra is changing that. For Wine Enthusiast, Christina Pickard writes, “Today, Ratcliff’s farm is planted to 46 different grape varieties across 10 vineyard sites covering […]
Read More
Podcast
South Africa
Episode 6 – John Seccombe (Thorne & Daughters)
In this episode, you'll hear how John came to be known for his textural whites, and how he learned to embrace a model for winemaking that fit his terroir (read: not trying to be a copy/paste version of Bordeaux or Burgundy). You'll also hear John's take on why getting South African wine to be mainstream in the US is still an uphill battle, as well as his adoration for Japan and, yes, McDonalds...
Read More