Inhaltsverzeichnis für April 2026 in Decanter

Basing yourself in winery accommodation seems like a good place to start as a wine lover holidaying in Italy. You’ll be in a beautiful, rural setting far from the frenetic pace of day-to-day life, and you’ll get a rare insight into the life of a winemaker. It’s obviously a valuable revenue stream for wineries in a tough economic climate, but Elisa De Lulis of biodynamic estate Emidio Pepe in Abruzzo says (in our cover story on Italy’s new-wave agriturismo, p100) that money is not the driver. Instead, she explains, it’s an extension of their winemaking philosophy: a way to protect and communicate their heritage by letting people see it with their own eyes. Visiting a winery in person certainly creates an understanding of, and a loyalty to, the estate that…

DON’T MISS Southern Rhône in-villa tastings Holidaying in the southern Rhône? Anna Spooner, who left the UK wine trade to live in the region three years ago, will organise bespoke private tastings at your accommodation, with optional pairing lunches or dinners cooked by local chefs. She also offers bespoke tours within the region, tailored to suit clients’ preferences and knowledge levels. annaspoonerwine.com English vineyard tour Wine writer and Master of Wine Rose Murray Brown is leading a whistlestop tour of 11 English wineries over five days in June (16-20). The itinerary – which takes in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Essex – will include visits to leading names Domaine Evremond (Taittinger’s UK outpost), Sugrue South Downs, Nyetimber, Hambledon and Danbury Ridge. An Alsace and Jura trip is planned for October. rosemurraybrown.com…

Tool’s 2001 album Lateralus is, in my opinion, among the most ambitious, accomplished metal records of all time. It also has a 1.9/10 rating from Pitchfork. That famously scathing publication may be an outlier – its critics relishing the chance to lambast – but you see it with reviews of films, books and restaurants, too. Just look at the recent media response to Wuthering Heights. You have to go looking for negative wine reviews. Trawl through the hundreds of thousands of entries on specialist sites such as Robert Parker Wine Advocate or jancisrobinson.com and you will find some damning notes and scores; you won’t find so many in print. And out in the wild, you’re unlikely to see a retailer or producer shouting about an 82-point score. Why would they?…

As notoriously difficult as Italian wine is to decipher, the term ‘Riserva’ seems straightforward – it’s widely, and simply, interpreted as ‘better’. Intrinsic to the history of Italian wine, Riserva is deeply entrenched in the country’s psyche. As Andrea Farinetti (pictured, p39), owner of Borgogno in Barolo, says: ‘It means something rare, limited and set-aside because it’s unique.’ Equally, cautions Brunello di Montalcino producer Biondi-Santi CEO Giampiero Bertolini: ‘Whether this is the case or not is another question.’ The term is also tied to a legal definition controlled by both EU and Italian wine law, which stipulates longer ageing prior to release compared to non-Riserva counterparts (often referred to as annata). This translates to a minimum total ageing of two years for reds and one for whites. Convolutions ensue, because…

Hendrick’s reveals its white side Launched in 1999, with its distinctive dark apothecary bottle, Hendrick’s Gin helped drive the premium gin renaissance of the early 2000s. Master Distiller Lesley Gracie also created higher-proof Orbium, released in 2017, as well as a series of special limited editions. But the brand now has its first new permanent addition in almost 10 years: Another Hendrick’s (Alcohol 41.4%, £33-£41.99/70cl Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, The Whisky Exchange). Packaged in a striking white bottle, the new expression showcases orange blossom and cacao botanicals. ‘Another Hendrick’s is the complete opposite of what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years,’ said Gracie. ‘After experimenting with different elements from the Hendrick’s Gin Palace’s tropical greenhouse, I discovered this brilliant profile featuring a depth of flavour, hint of sweetness and lift…

Lamb is to Easter as turkey is to Christmas – the automatic go-to for a festive family lunch. Perversely, it’s largely based on the idea that you’re going to be cooking the first of the season’s spring lamb. In fact, unless you live in Spain or France, where milk-fed lamb is a delicacy, it’s unlikely that you’ll be dining on spring lamb, which is certainly a very different beast from lamb from more mature animals such as hogget (a sheep between one and two years old). It’s also quite likely that it won’t be the slightly overcooked Sunday roast of my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Ready for an adventure? All this means that the go-to wines with lamb – and let’s face it, lamb goes with almost any classic red,…

After my spotlight on sake books, the Japanese theme continues this month with a new guide to the country’s wines. I stumbled across this self-published work on Instagram (a reward for my hours of mindless scrolling). Nick Rowan – aka @winefogg on the platform – isn’t an industry veteran, but has clearly fallen hard for the world of wine in recent years, undertaking WSET courses and setting up a blog (winefogg.com). And now, he’s published a book: Japanese Wine: History, Regions, Wineries (and Cheese) (£49 Wine Fogg, December 2025). Rowan, who previously lived in Japan, has put an extraordinary amount of thought and work into the book. A true labour of love, it’s a comprehensive guide to the wines of Japan (as well as a nod to the country’s nascent…

Dry Furmint, but aged SYLVIA WU In addition to Tokaji Aszú, the botrytised sweet wine, Hungary’s Tokaj region is increasingly known for its quality dry whites, crafted mainly using the same Furmint grape. I’ve been enjoying dry Furmints – such as Disznókő’s herbal and zesty 2024 and single-vineyard bottles such as Füleky’s floral and spiced Mestervölgy 2021 (£28.50 Amathus Drinks) and Royal Tokaji’s focused and complex Szent Tamás 2020 – without realising that this is a rather ‘new’ style, created more than 400 years later than Aszú. At Furmint February, the annual London tasting dedicated to Hungary’s flagship white grape, Caroline Gilby MW and Richard Bampfield MW led a masterclass on dry Furmint dating back to its emergence in the early 2000s. Unsurprisingly, the wines have evolved in very different…

Cerasuolo embodies the most intimate soul and essence of Abruzzo: a wine that represents the mountainous and marine duality of the region. It is the wine of tradition, the wine of Abruzzo’s yesteryear table, the wine of the family, the wine offered to distinguished guests; and yet, from being a supposedly outdated wine, it has become the new ‘avant-garde’. The forze e gentile (‘strong and gentle’) Abruzzo region, as journalist and diplomat of the day Primo Levi (1853-1917) described it, is perfectly embodied in Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo’s characteristics: a rosé with the spirit of a red, and/or a light red with the fresh drinkability of a rosé. It’s a multifaceted wine that can’t be pigeonholed. Cerasuolo has the rare gift of substance and vigour, characteristics that come from the red Montepulciano…

• Danbury Ridge, Solstice 1st Edition Brut, Essex, England NV £55 Swig, The Finest Bubble A multi-vintage blend of barrel-fermented Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Complex notes of hay, lemon rind, honey-drizzled apples and decomposing autumn leaves. Luminous, vibrant and layered palate, with 4.8g/L dosage balanced by bright acidity. VD Alc 13% • Adega Algueira, Escalada, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain 2023 £21.49-£52.70 Millésima, Noble Grape, Vinvm, Wine Tasting Adventures Elegant, balanced take on Godello, with an unctuous mid-palate offset by robust mineral freshness. Frangipane and lemon curd, with creamy generosity. Toasted almonds, wet hay and fennel top. Great ageing potential. IS Alc 14% • Mas de Daumas Gassac, Blanc, St-Guilhem-le-Désert, Languedoc, France 2024 O£53 Honest Grapes, Waud Handford Fresh citrus, wild fennel, fresh herbs and green and yellow apple. A real…

Rare wines still finding buyers A single-owner collection featuring mature Burgundy, Bordeaux and Italian gems has been a highlight of New York’s auction scene in recent weeks, while buyers in France turned out in force for the latest Hospices de Nuits-St-Georges charity sale. Several blue-chip Burgundy lots beat pre-sale high estimates at a Sotheby’s auction of the cellar of the late Joel Shapiro, celebrated American sculptor and contemporary artist, in March. Highlights included 12 bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche 1993, which sold for $68,750 including buyer’s premium (high estimate: $42,000). Eleven bottles of Château Margaux 1990 sold for $17,500 (high e: $11,000) and 12 bottles of Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva 1999, fetched $18,750 (high e: $12,000). Results reinforce prior reports of ongoing collector interest in rare wines,…

LAUREN MOWERY Who? Based on the US east coast, Lauren is a widely published and awarded travel, food and drinks journalist and photographer, as well as a wine educator and consultant. Among many others, her work has appeared in Forbes, Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Food, and she is founder and CEO of conscious lifestyle magazine Azure Road online What, & why read? Winemaking cooperatives, where solo operators can find strength in numbers, may be the way forward in this tough economic climate, ponders Lauren – and are often a great source of value for the wine lover. Here she points us towards Italy’s best co-ops, and recommends a few bottles to seek out JASON MILLAR Who? A wine writer, consultant, judge and communicator with a focus on Italy and…

Appellations celebrate their 90th birthday next month. The first six of what (using EU nomenclature) we now refer to as appellations d’origine protegée or APs came into being on 15 May 1936. A torrent followed by 1938, including most Bordeaux and Burgundy appellations. This was a decade of soggy weather, depressed markets, struggling sales and gathering political storms, though the principal motive for creating ‘names of controlled origin’ was to fight against post-phylloxera fraud. Guess what? French wine now finds itself… in the middle of a decade of depressed markets, struggling sales and political storms; the miserable weather of the 1930s has become the wild, unpredictable and increasingly torrid weather of the 2020s. ‘Many of the most creative have quit the system’ It’s impossible to imagine wine creation today without…

Earlier this year at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair in Montpellier, I tasted with Pierre Caizergues of Pierre & Antonin, a micro-négociant based in Malepère on Languedoc’s western frontier. I’ll admit it was the wine labels that first caught my eye – frolicking foxes and unapologetically bright colours (I have a soft spot for foxes, especially the urban ones that have adopted my small London garden), but other aspects soon piqued my interest beyond the aesthetic charm: lightweight bottles, organic viticulture, minimal sulphur, indigenous yeasts – and, most strikingly, disease-resistant grape varieties. Although they’re both from Languedoc, Pierre and his business partner Antonin Bonnet met in New York in 2010 while working in sales. After a decade of fermenting ideas, they returned to France and launched Pierre & Antonin…

What’s the difference between talented grape farmers and visionary entrepreneurs? The ‘what next?’ question comes once a winery has reached the pinnacle of success – unanimous critical praise, financially thriving and widely considered a benchmark for its region – and it’s then that the differences show. The former prefers to stand still and consolidate their hard-won legacy, while the latter feels the urge to embark on new adventures. Italian wine superstars typically have a strong tie to a specific place, which means they can’t replicate their winning formula elsewhere as easily as wine producers in other countries might. Yet that doesn’t always prevent them from investing beyond the boundaries of their home appellations, or creating second projects from scratch; they’re simply accustomed to doing it differently. Logics of scale go…

Spirits like order. Scotch whisky has age statements neatly stacked into a ladder, reassuring the drinker that time equals value. Cognac’s alphabet soup of VS, VSOP and XO provides a rough guide to age progression, even when the liquid itself is the product of extensive blending. In both cases, age provides a framework for expectation. Armagnac sits adjacent to these systems. Officially, it has its own classifications: VS (one year), VSOP (four years), XO or Hors d’Age (10). They exist, and many producers use them. Yet when Armagnac is discussed with any seriousness, the conversation almost inevitably turns to vintages. The reason is partly structural. Unlike Cognac (built on a handful of large houses that age and blend, rather than cultivate and harvest), Armagnac is often made in smaller volumes…

Chianti 101 What tips can you provide on how to cellar and serve Chianti Classico? Jonathan Miller Raffaele Mosca, Decanter contributor, replies: Chianti Classico has long been defined by its ability to age gracefully – as highlighted by a recent retrospective held by the Consorzio Chianti Classico in Rome. Yet the way these wines evolve has changed considerably over time. In the post-war decades, Chianti Classico was frequently produced under loose winemaking standards, often including white grapes to soften Sangiovese’s angular tannins. Only a handful of estates consistently produced cellar-worthy wines, mostly within the Riserva category, typically sourced from superior fruit and aged longer in traditional oak botti. Badia a Coltibuono, Melini and Castello di Monsanto stood out for their reliability. Recently, a 1974 Il Poggio Riserva from the latter…

If you ask an Italophile to name the country’s finest white grape, Verdicchio may more often than not top the list. A speciality of the Marche region on the Adriatic coast, it remains curiously underappreciated, given its consistency, versatility and capacity to age. This panel tasting confirmed Verdicchio’s character and quality across the board. As Sara Bachiorri observed, the wines showed that this variety can be ‘excellent, interesting and ageworthy, as well as great value for money’. The highest-scoring wines span a wide stylistic spectrum. Fresher, more youthful examples offer green and red apple, pear and white pepper flavours, often with an appealing hint of chicory or radicchio, while the more mature wines show yellow plum, quince and resinous herbs, yet retain a striking sense of youthful energy. Of the…

• Esk Valley, Artisanal Collection Albariño, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2022£13.50-£14.99 Dennhofer Wines, Hattersley Wines, ND John, WoodWinters The smattering of Albariño in Hawke’s Bay often yields impressive wines such as this. Concentrated, with plenty of zip. Citrus zest, candied peel, white peach. Gentle leesiness adds charm. HN Alc 13% • Alceño, El Blanco de Lela de Mar, Murcia, Spain NV£7.99-£9.95 Amps, CH Wine Merchants, Jaded Palates, Talking Wines, Tom l’Anson, Vino Fandango, Vino Gusto This field blend packs a punch. An intriguing aroma of parma violets and dried roses leads to a tropical fruit salad palate. Simple, juicy and fun, it’s a well-priced crowdpleaser – perfect for the first barbecue or picnic of the year. TG Alc 12% • Maison Sinnae, Enfant Terrible Blanc, Côtes du Rhône, France 2025 £13…

A record-breaking performance for South Africa at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2025 has further enhanced the country’s reputation for producing stellar white wines in many different growing regions. South African winemakers are no strangers to success at the world’s largest wine competition, but 45 Gold medals at DWWA 2025 is a new high. Results also showcased a fascinating white wine scene going from strength to strength in the country. DWWA Regional Chair for South Africa Fiona McDonald highlighted several Golds for Chenin Blanc, in particular. ‘Consumers have never had it so good when it comes to South African Chenins,’ she said. ‘It’s a genuine delight to see how focused the wines are while retaining a sense of style and personality – much like their respective makers!’ South African…

What’s currently on your wine rack? A recent discovery is Granato by Foradori in Trentino, northeast Italy. It’s made by Elisabetta Foradori from the Teroldego grape – we had it at the Venice Film Festival and I bought some to take home. I’ve also got a few bottles of Nicolas Joly’s Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Savennières. I mainly drink Italian reds and have Eduardo Torres Acosta’s Versante Nord Nerello Mascalese from Etna on the rack. Where do you keep your wine? It’s all kept together in a series of racks in the basement of my London home. For everyday drinking it’s Italian labels or Côtes du Rhône. I’ve got wines dating back to the 1930s and some are well beyond drinking. It’s that culture of holding onto things.…

How today’s under-40s view fine wine: new global insights Fresh research into a new generation of fine wine lovers has highlighted ‘access, education and community’ as critical issues. Fine wine passion among people under 40 is often sparked by experiences with friends, contradicting an assumption that it’s primarily passed down through families, said fine wine think tank Areni Global. Its report, The New Fine Wine Consumer, is based on interviews and surveys of fine wine buyers under 40 in cities including London, New York and Singapore. Findings included challenges posed by macroeconomic headwinds, and alcohol’s eroding ‘cultural legitimacy’ due to health concerns. ‘The trade needs to make an extra effort to bring people into fine wine, including making it possible to buy in smaller quantities,’ said the report, adding: ‘If…

Decades ago, a San Francisco friend mentioned that a mutual acquaintance had joined a ‘club’ in Napa Valley. But not a club for playing tennis, or for discussing books. ‘She can go anytime, for private tastings,’ my friend said, impressed. As a 20-something, I had never heard of such a thing. The phrase ‘wine club’ conjured an adult life I hadn’t yet earned, requiring some blend of sophistication and success. Membership implied belonging and privilege. Wine clubs were just taking off then, inspired by the allocation-list model. But while true allocation lists help blue-chip producers manage overwhelming demand, today nearly every US winery touts an ‘exclusive club’ to move available inventory. To drive sign-ups, wineries tease customers with the promise of ‘access to rare releases’. ‘Consumers want to be on…

Although not indigenous to Italy, Sauvignon Blanc can be considered one of the country’s most important white grape varieties. The most celebrated examples are from the two northeastern regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Alto Adige, while other notable examples come from regions as far apart as Piedmont and Sicily. Friuli In the commune of Mariano in the Gorizia province of Friuli, the Gallo family crafts two remarkable Sauvignons, Piere and Vieris, sourced from two distinct vineyards. Matteo Gallo, son of winemaker Gianfranco, who has managed the Vie di Romans estate (viediromans.it) for more than 40 years, calls the wines ‘our two most representative crus’. Gallo characterises the Piere vineyard as having greater soil depth and a higher clay content, while Vieris features much shallower, reddish-coloured soil, rich in limestone…

Bari, capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region, is a seamless blend of ancient and contemporary, with a vibrant buzz. The medieval old town, Bari Vecchia, is an astonishing maze of white stone alleys and arches, pristine and well lit. Strolling around Bari Vecchia is like walking through a film set. At regular intervals, the narrow alleys open onto spacious piazzas with soaring monuments such as the Basilica di San Nicola and the Romanesque cathedral, which features a fascinating underground archaeological area including ancient mosaics that largely date as far back as the sixth century. There are plenty of outdoor tables from which you can enjoy the atmosphere, along with local wines: perhaps a refreshing white Verdeca frizzante or the increasingly popular, aromatic Minutolo, accompanied by olives or crunchy taralli snacks…

Wooden barrels have been used in the wine industry since Roman times, with producers commonly making use of local woods such as acacia, pine or chestnut. Over time, oak became the preferred material due to its tight grain and abundance across Europe. As winemakers recognised its positive influence on tannins and flavours, oak gained dominance in today’s wine industry. Ripe black fruit flavours mixed with smoky (oak-derived) vanilla equals enjoyable drinking experiences for most consumers. In the production of reds, winemakers use oak barrels or chips to add flavour and complexity, and to help soften tannins, which begs the question: don’t all red wines have oak? There are more unoaked red wines made than we might initially realise; often they’re simpler, fruitier wines intended to be drunk young – Beaujolais…