Klein Constantia: stellar whites, sweet and dry 
Marqués de Riscal: Gehry hotel outshining solid Rioja and Rueda 
La Rioja Alta: benchmark classical Riojas especially top flight Gran Reservas 
Marqués de Murrieta: Rioja aristocracy built around Castillo Ygay 
CVNE: Combining volume and classical quality 
Contino: Château-style Rioja and Graciano pioneers Producers & Places
Lopez de Heredia-Viña Tondonia: ultimate Rioja traditionalists
Lopez de Heredia-Viña Tondonia have remained classical in style for the decades of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s whilst others were changing what they …
Ramón Bilbao: modern Rioja with altitude
Ruth and I first visited Ramón Bilbao just as tourists in 2014, when visiting Haro the first time. In 2018, by random allocation, we …
Artadi: single vineyard revolutionaries
After meeting César Román, Artadi’s commercial guy, at ProWein, I arranged to visit them with Ruth and fellow MW, Madeleine Stenwreth. We went into …
Rioja: Spain’s classic region is changing
Rioja, the most famous wine region in Spain. Home to Tempranillo and the American oak barrel. One of only 2 regions, with Priorat, carrying …
El Fabulista: a different Rioja story
Bodega El Fabulista, “The Storyteller”, is…unusual. Named after local story writer, Felíx María Samaniego, it is one of only 2 bodegas still inside the …
Muga: seamlessly blending classical and modern in Rioja
The first time we visited Haro, we were not able to book into Bodegas Muga. Therefore, the first thing we did before the 2018 …
Kopke, Cálem and friends: Sogevinus fine Port-folio
Sogevinus is the Portuguese firm that has a portfolio of 4 major Port houses: Kopke, Cálem, Burmester and Barros. Kopke is the oldest established …
Passing the Port: Douro Boys and classy table wines
The Douro Boys are a group of 5 grower-winemakers who clubbed together in 2003 to promote the wines of the Douro valley, upriver of …
Chianti Classico: a four-dimensional view of the beating heart of Tuscany
By invitation through the IMW, 4 Tuscan Consorzi, representing the finest in gastronomic production from primarily the Chianti Classico region, ran a press trip …
ProWein: neophysics and the art of vast wine events
Neophysics: n. the scientific process of being a neophyte OK, so I invented a word. It came to me during my first experience of …