Summary: In this video, Justin and Chris explore ageabilty in rosé wines by tasting two vintages of the esteemed Clos Cibonne winery in Provence. They discuss ageabilty, quality, oak and how to spot aged characteristics in this style of wine. About the Speakers: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager and one of our in-house Masters of Wine. Justin passed the notoriously challenging MW tasting exam with the Madame Bollinger Award,

Summary: The 'Beyond the Textbook' series seeks to get under the skin of specific varieties and regions from around the world. Here Justin tastes 3 amazing, but very different style from Viré-Clessé. It's Chardonnay, but not as you know it... Details of all three wines can be found in the attached pdf About the Speaker: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager and one of our in-house Masters of Wine. Justin passed the

Summary: In this video we taste three exquisite examples of Semillon/Sémillon from France and Australia, each with a really nice bit of bottle age. Justin recaps some of the textbook knowledge about this grape variety, as well as the key winemaking and viticultural factors that give the wines their unique personalities. We also cover some blind tasting tips about how you might tell these wines apart from other similarly styled examples from around the

Summary: This video explores some of the key techniques in tasting red wines, that enable you to make an objective analysis of its quality, and also take the first steps towards identifying the variety and where in the world the wine comes from. This one is designed for those of you who don't have a huge amount of wine tasting experience and want to get to grips with the basics. Details of all the wines are in the attached pdf. About the

Summary: This is a nuts-and-bolts introduction to some basic white wine tasting techniques, aimed at those of you who don't have a huge amount of prior tasting experience. Here we'll discuss some tips for how to get the most out of your white wines, and take the first steps into how you might decipher a grape variety and an objective quality assessment of a wine. You can find all the details of the wines in the pdf download above. About the

Summary: In this video we'll taste 3 different Chardonnays of different styles, quality and origins, and see how we might make some arguments for deciding the variety, where in the world they come from and how good they are using evidence from the glass. All the details about the wines can be found in the pdf link above. About the Speaker: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager and one of our in-house Masters of Wine. Justin

Summary: What is a 'natural wine' anyway? In the latest in our series of blind tasting videos, Justin is once again joined by Chris Martin MW, to discuss all things natural. They taste three outstanding low-intervention wines and talk about how you might recognise the signatures of naturalness, how to assess quality and finding the line between funk and faulty. We'd love to hear your thoughts about natural wine, so please start a discussion in the comments! Details

Summary: In this video Justin and Chris explore the world of Rosé, sharing tips and techniques around how to taste quality and starting to make arguments for logical regions of origin. We cover colour, winemaking signatures and what makes a great Rosé through a tasting of three very different wines from the south of France.  Full details of all the wines can be found in the pdf document above. About the

Summary: In this video we'll taste 3 different Syrahs of different styles, quality and origins, and see how we might make some arguments for deciding the variety, where in the world they come from and how good they are using evidence from the glass. All the details about the wines can be found in the pdf link above. About the Speaker: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager and one of our in-house Masters of Wine. Justin

Summary: In this video we explore the limitations of the various wine tasting grids, and Justin introduces the cross system as an alternative method. Both systems are perfectly valid, but this might appeal to you if you share the same frustrations and want to give a different method a try! About the Speaker: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager and one of our in-house Masters of Wine. Justin passed the notoriously challenging MW

Summary: Regenerative Viticulture is one of the most exciting developments in wine sustainability in a generation. Here we showcase three fantastic French producers who have taken the leap and converted their vineyards to this method of farming. All the details of the wines are downloadable in the pdf above, along with some links to further information you may enjoy. About the Speaker: Justin Martindale is the Wine Scholar Guild Membership Manager

Watch Here You can watch this video in our community space here Summary In this month's Icon Wine Tasting, we're focussed on Left Bank Bordeaux, which of course means taking a look at 1st growth Bordeaux. These wines have been the undisupted champions of the region since long before they were officially classified in

Watch Here You can watch this video in our community space here Summary In this tasting video, Justin explores the incredibly versatile world of Albariño. Quite probably Spain's greatest white grape, the way that Albariño described is often shoehorned into a narrow and limited style that really feels increasingly clichéd. Here

Watch Here You can find this video in our community space here Summary What comes to your mind when you think about Bordeaux? Is it carefully manicured fairytale Chateaux of the left bank? The 1855 classification? The First Growths? These prestigious wines garner much of the attention, but only

Watch Here: You can find this recording in our community space here Summary Historically, particularly in the great vineyards of Europe, vintage variation has played a crucial role in the quality of the wines. But given these regions are

Watch Here You can watch this video in our community space here Summary Justin tastes one of the iconic producers in the Producer Guide, this time choosing Adega Algueira's Dolio 2019 from Ribeira Sacra. Learn why it's considered a modern classic, and the inspirational role Fernando González has played

Where to Watch You can watch this tasting video in our community space here Summary Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Trousseau make up the trio responsible for the best red wines of the Jura. One of those is probably familiar to you, but the other two are firmly off the beaten track!

How to Watch You can catch this session on our community space here Summary In this month’s Icon tasting, we introduce the wonderful wines of Stephane Tissot and his iconic Ch. Chalon Vin Jaune 2016. As well as learning about this brilliant producer, we also consider

Watch Here You can find this recording in our community space here Summary In this month’s Icon tasting, I get to try one of the Northern Rhone superstars, Domaine JP Jamet’s Cote-Rotie from 2011. It got me thinking about what it takes to elevate a

Earlier last month, I ran my first webinar for Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) — an overview of what it means to be a wine journalist and what it takes to turn this into a viable and successful career choice. Ahead of a series of stories I’m going to be regularly writing for the blog and a brand-new podcast due to launch later this year (more on this further down), the webinar’s topic was the ideal means to introduce myself to the WSG audience.