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Investing in Your Wine Career

Following the WSG webinar series “Navigating a Career in Wine & Spirits”, it seems like an appropriate time to dive in a little deeper on some of the topics covered. Most would agree that there is no greater investment than the investment you make in yourself!

Natural Wines & Small Plates in Paris

The term natural wine conjures a plethora of reactions. To some it symbolizes a cultural movement towards honest winemaking, to others it is merely a fad for funky wines. The term is as vague as it is vast. There are some who believe natural should refer only to zero-zero wines (wines that have no...

Rising Stars of Piedmont: Eight Must-Taste Producers from Roero to Monforte d’Alba

Post–World War II, global wine production underwent a rapid and profound transformation. New developments in wine science from Montpellier, Geisenheim, and Bordeaux helped clean up wine,

The Rive Revolution: Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG

This short article is a follow up to my webinar for WSG of 7th June, 2022. It is primarily a reference piece which aims to give more detailed information than the power point format allows. It includes full listings of the Rive sub-zones, terroir areas identified in studies of the Conegliano...

Dining in the Barolo and Barbaresco Zones

Wine professionals and consumers share a similar aspiration when they visit a wine region; they want to enjoy the area’s best dining experiences so they can pair their favorite local wines with the territory’s typical food offerings. While commonplace throughout Italy, this situation is nowhere...

Reinventing Abruzzo: Rising Stars

For much of the wine history of Abruzzo, large cooperatives established a perception that the region’s wines were pleasant and technically correct, but offered little in the way of excellence. Today, the image of Abruzzese wine has taken on a new light, as dozens of smaller producers are crafting...

Rioja Gold: The Past, Present, and Future of Aged Rioja Wines

Bordeaux. Burgundy. Barolo. Rioja. Just the mere mention of any one of these wine regions conjures images of the world’s best wines all sharing the ability to age for decades. The wines of Rioja have earned their place amongst this elite group; and whilst consumer tastes may swing like a clock’s...
© Racine Reims

Best restaurants for your Champagne wine tour

Most wine lovers live to eat, so at best wine tourism is also a gastrotourism. The restaurant scene is Champagne is not quite as bubbly as the name suggests, but thanks to champagne houses’ entertaining and champagne tourism, the region has many fine restaurants: L’Assiette Champenois with three...

The 2020 Vintage in France, by Andrew Jefford

The vintage chart and harvest reports provided by the Wine Scholar Guild gives you the ranking for every French wine region and vintage from 2000 to today.Andrew Jefford, award-winning author and columnist in every issue of Decanter and World of Fine Wine, Co-Chair Decanter World Wine Awards;...

Vine to Wine: A Year of Viti/Vini - December

Finally, we have reached the end of the winemaking year. In the vineyard, soil health is a common topic of discussion now that the vines are dormant. This is a great time to dig soil pits and send samples off to discover more about the composition of the soil layers around the root system of the...

Vine to Wine: A Year of Viti/Vini - November

At the start of November, areas with long growing seasons are still wrapping up harvest, but most wineries in the northern hemisphere have brought their grapes into the winery. An exception to this rule is any fruit being left out for ice wine production. Ice Wine ProductionGrapes destined for ice...

On the “Predatory” Influence of our Eyes on the Taste of Wine

This article is the first of an upcoming series by French neuroscientist Gabriel Lepousez. Gabriel is part of the Scientific Committee formed by WSG in the context of its "Architecture of Taste Research Project". He has also presented a fascinating segment on "The Neuroscience of Wine Tasting" as...

Italian Vintage Chart, from 2010 to 2020

Wine Scholar Guild is pleased to provide its readers with vintage and harvest reports for some of Italy’s most famous regions, from 2010 onward. We felt it was time that we expand our assessment of vintages and harvest reports outside of France and Italy was first on our list. To compile this...

Vine to Wine: A Year of Viti/Vini - October

In October, most areas of the northern hemisphere are in harvest and going full out! Many white varieties finish in early October. Although some reds (particularly early-ripening Pinot Noir) may have started harvest in September, generally, October is the month when most red varieties are picked....

The Architecture of Taste: Research Begins

On the 6th of September 2021, Wine Scholar Guild hosted the first large-scale blind-tasting panel as part of its recently announced The Architecture of Taste Research Project. Hosted at the Bristol Hotel in Colmar, Alsace, this panel tasting launched WSG’s research on the tactile and geosensorial...

The Great Debate: The Language of Wine, Tasting Notes & Scores with Andrew Jefford and William Kelley

It is a regular occurrence, even for the most accomplished wine aficionado: a loss of words to describe exactly what’s going on in the glass. Try as we might, the language of wine will always be a tricky landscape to navigate. But, as educators and students of wine, it is a necessity. Whether...

Vine to Wine: A Year of Viti/Vini - September

Now that fall has arrived, winemakers turn their attention to the harvest. In most of the northern hemisphere, harvest usually begins by the middle of this month, if not earlier. It is an exciting time. The culmination of all the hard work in the vineyards is realized in the moments the grapes are...

Trebbiano: The Most Perplexing Nine Letters in Italian Wine?

When you think of Italy’s vast array of wine grapes, which one comes to mind as the most difficult to study? Maybe Nebbiolo, for its seemingly endless site-specific details? Or Sangiovese, simply because there is so much of it, in so many different forms? I would posit that Trebbiano is perhaps...

Vine to Wine: A Year of Viti/Vini - August

August is the calm before the harvest storm. Vegetative growth has slowed considerably and, in some climates, stopped completely due to water stress. The vine now turns its efforts to ripening the fruit that it has developed earlier in the season. Although the berries are close to their final...

The Ten Best Spanish White Wines: A Beginner’s Guide

As the global popularity of Spanish wine grows, more exciting options are becoming available in restaurants and wine shops. While many people are familiar with Spain's premium red wines from regions such as Rioja and Priorat, the country also produces stellar white wines. These wonderful – and...