WORDS ON WINE.
And other stuff.
The Unpretentious Guide to Portuguese Wine
“The ultimate concise and portable guidebook for travelers, casual wine enthusiasts, aficionados, and professionals.”
NOW AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE!
2025 Content.
Is Still Prosecco a Clever Bid or a Branding Blunder?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… There comes a time in the lifespan of wildly successful products when it seems the world is not enough. Think: Crystal Pepsi, Facebook’s pivot to Meta, and non-alcoholic hard seltzer. Prosecco, that chipper Swiss army knife of sparkling wine, may be having its moment trotting out the trope. Much to the confusion of everyone, the confounding era of bubble-free Prosecco is nigh. It’s already available in Italy, of course, but also now the U.S. and Prosecco-obsessed U.K., in addition to other export markets. …
August 11, 2025
Big Wine Backing Away From the Entry Level Should Worry the Entire Industry
As Published by VINEPAIR
… A spicy rumor riled up the wine industry earlier this year: Constellation Brands wanted out. And not just a few labels here and there: the whole kit and caboodle. … Instead of opting out of its founding heritage entirely, though, Constellation quelled worst-case-scenario fears by offloading all its value-tier labels. … But if a more starkly foundational value-wine realignment is underway, it could hint at future systemic deterioration of industry health. …
August 4, 2025
Color-Coded Branding Sells Seltzer and Scotch — So Why Not Wine?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… It’s possibly the ultimate example of color coding done right in the spirits world. Those diagonal labels on tall, rectangular bottles are magnetic in their appeal. Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky has become synonymous with that chromatic progression. … Yet in the wine industry, few brands have embraced a similar strategy. Despite endless SKUs and fierce shelf competition, color-coded labeling remains an untapped design tool. Why haven’t more wineries taken advantage? …
July 7, 2025
Is ‘English Single Malt’ Really a Threat to Scotch?
As Published by WINE ENTHUSIAST
… What’s in a name? A hell of a lot if you’re a devotee of single malt Scotch whisky. Earlier this year, the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs began consideration of an English Whisky GI (geographical indication) proposal that would allow whisky makers to leverage the official moniker “English Single Malt” on their products. But without equivalent standards regarding production location, the Scotch Whisky Association isn’t on board …
July 4, 2025
Nothing Can Stop Julien Miquel: The ‘YouTube King of Wine Pronunciation’
As Published by VINEPAIR
… With a rapidly expanding toolbox of social platforms, a new generation of wine media figures set out to develop this new online frontier — experimenting, adapting, and building audiences in real time. … Among them was Julien Miquel, a young winemaker from southwest France dipping his toe into the wine mediascape. While that era produced plenty of colorful personalities and forged many a path, perhaps no other journey — save that of Vaynerchuk — has been quite as oddly compelling …
June 9, 2025
With White Wine Dominating, Can Richer Expressions Make a Comeback?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… It’s a certainty that many wine consumers, professionals, and civilians alike share the same dirty little secret: an unfashionable love for big, rich white wines. … A fear of being outed and shamed by colleagues has kept many a mouth shut in hopes of avoiding pop-culture humiliation. But as the long arc of fashion begins its overdue retreat from an apex of acid excess, might this guilty pleasure finally be coming back into style? …
May 21, 2025
After Decades of Growth, Could Sliding New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Sales Spell Trouble?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… It’s been a spectacular success story — one of the most dramatic and consistent ascents in modern wine history. Essentially out of nowhere, beginning around the turn of the millennium, New Zealand wine exports lit the candle and cleared the launchpad. … But there’s a catch. About 85 percent of those New Zealand exports are one lonely variety: Sauvignon Blanc. That’s a whole lot of eggs in one little basket …
May 6, 2025
Champagne Sales Are Slumping. Is Prosecco to Blame?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… A clear champion has emerged in the global race for effervescent influence. In relative comparison to wine overall, the good times continue to roll for all things bubbly, but none have dominated the field more so than that Swiss army knife of fizz, Prosecco … The gearbox now appears to be seizing up for Champagne, as sales have recently slumped … The question begs to be asked: Is the Italian sparkler coming for the French wine’s crown? …
April 14, 2025
Prestige Alcohol Brands Are Difficult to Build — and All Too Easy to Ruin
As Published by VINEPAIR
… Luxury in and of itself often rings hollow, but prestige has soul to it: a sort of timeless essence of cultural meaningfulness … That elevation into the near-universally respected prestige level is an ultimate goal for many alcohol producers and marketers … But cautionary tales abound, and even if smart and lucky enough to hunt down true brand prestige, mucking it all up and squandering the hard-won treasure is far too easy …
March 17, 2025
Long Associated With Sherry, Solera Aging Is Redefining Spirits and Cocktails
As Published by VINEPAIR
… Sherry’s old-school strategy of aging and blending, known as the “solera” system, has trickled its way into all kinds of drinks culture over the past few years as a buzzworthy technique for distillers, mixology pros, and even breweries. And within that cadre, it’s becoming a trendy brand of sorts, a stylistic stamp of solera-club membership. … The intrinsically geeky solera system is slowly inching toward potential (drinks) pop culture status …
March 3, 2025
Can U.S. Supermarket-Branded Wine Follow Europe’s Blueprint for Success?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… The shock experienced by an American when faced with a legitimately lovely bottle of bubbly emblazoned with a supermarket’s logo would probably be lost on the current crop of European residents. … Hell, with zero hint of shame or irony, many are even comfortable bringing the mid-range and posher supermarket bottlings to nice dinner parties. So what is Europe doing so right with its grocery private label wine culture that many outfits in the U.S. haven’t quite figured out? …
February 27, 2025
Is This Once-Iconic Portuguese Wine’s Affordability Now Its Biggest Problem?
As Published by VINEPAIR
… At first glance, with its accessible pricing and seemingly ideal origin location, one might think Moscatel de Setúbal is favorably positioned to once again climb the ranks. But facing a shrinking fortified market, as well as surrounded and outshined by the three most bankable wines of the genre, does the faded star have the slightest chance at pulling off a Cinderella story and regaining its elite fortified status? …
February 17, 2025
This Englishman Put California Wine on the Map Well Before the ‘Judgment of Paris’
As Published by VINEPAIR
… But there’s a forgotten name hidden in the shadows, collecting cultural cobwebs despite its critical importance and prior fame. It’s a name now consistently omitted from the list of those who deserve credit for the overall grand arrival of California wine on the international stage. That name is Harry Waugh, born 1904 just north of London, and lovingly known among his American contemporaries as “the man with the million dollar palate.” …
January 2, 2025
