Welcome to my world of wine
Why Fino from Jerez can be a surprisingly precise alternative to Chablis and Muscadet The first oyster with a Fino is a subtly disorienting moment. Not because the pairing does not work – but because it works differently than expected. There are combinations that seem so self-evident that we hardly question them. Oyster and Chablis. […]
The story of Chenin Blanc in South Africa begins not with great wines, but with utility. For decades, Chenin was rarely considered a wine in the cultural sense, but rather a solution to a problem seldom articulated. The name Chenin Blanc itself carried little weight; at the Cape it was simply known as Steen – […]
Origin, intent and historical significance Kéknyelű (phonetic: keek-nyell-ew) – literally “blue stalk”, a reference to the subtle bluish hue the petiole takes on in autumn – ranks among Hungary’s historically most esteemed grape varieties, long before systems of classification or appellation came into being. As early as 1799, the botanist and chemist Pál Kitaibel described […]
2025 was a wine year that could not quite decide whether it wanted to provoke or to please – so it did both. On Instagram, natural wine devotees and conventional purists resumed their familiar trench warfare; winemakers began experimenting with yet more lunar cycles (the old ones seemingly exhausted); and, meanwhile, a third trend wave […]
It had been far too long since my last visit to Würzburg. In recent years, I had only passed through on the train, admiring the rolling vineyards of the Würzburger Stein from the window. Each time, the desire grew stronger to return – to wander among the vines, enjoy a glass of fine Franconian wine […]
