Discovery

Chianti is probably the best-known ‘brand’ of Italian wine in the world, but not everyone knows its historical roots and the differences between the various designations, starting with Chianti and Chianti Classico. These are two different Docgs and Chianti Classico is not a sub-region of Chianti, but a separate area with different production regulations and a separate consortium.

South Africa has by far the most Chenin Blanc plantings in the world, constituting 50% of all global plantings. As a variety in South Africa, Chenin has unleashed a wine culture bereft of profanities, pretence, and the fear of imperfection. Instead, through the lucid exploration of Chenin over decades, authentic stories surfaced, many rooted in old vines discovered throughout the Cape Winelands. As a wine, it steers creatives and empowers people. And as a phenomenon, its character, quality, and success in diverse styles stir the interest of the global wine community.

One of the region’s rising stars, with its multi-award-winning, extensive range of wines and cutting-edge technology, Bodega Inurietta is a great illustration of Navarre’s resurgence and its assertiveness in global wine markets. We take a look at what defines this young bodega shooting for the moon.

When you think about the Republic of Moldova, the image that immediately springs to mind is a country at the intersection between the new wine world and the old, between West and East. There is something Romanian about it, and yet it also has very local traits, all of which are woven into a blend of traditions gradually moving into the modern world.

Provence, particularly Bandol, have made it their king of grape varieties, but Mourvèdre also sits on the throne of many prestigious southern wine regions like the Rhone Valley, Languedoc and Roussillon. We shed some light on a challenging, late-ripening variety which is difficult to harness and yet so unique when it reaches peak ripeness.

Cantine Riondo is set in the beautiful rolling countryside around Verona, one of Italy’s most storied towns and the nexus of the sprawling Veneto wine region. Behind this bucolic setting, though, is one of the country’s largest co-operative groups and a range of wines that reads like a digest of global best-sellers.