Magazine

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.

After three decades of a free-market economy, the Czech Republic is about to reach another milestone in its wine history. While in recent times, the local wine industry has always been a more or less disparate, yet in many ways co-operative, mass of competing businesses, over the past few months the idea of a common approach for the future has slowly begun to materialise. With the general support of winegrowers, the idea of a unified winery concept is being developed, with emphasis among others on production efficiency, the most suitable varieties, exports and the environment, in addition to the established focus on quality. After years of adolescence, a fully-fledged and self-confident wine region with very promising potential is breaking onto the scene.

Mention the Southern Rhone wine region and most people immediately think Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As the region’s spearhead, blessed with ancient craftsmanship and an international reputation, it could easily make us forget that very nearby other fine southern wines are being produced, on similar soils. One is Lirac, in all three colours, and the other is the rosé-only Tavel appellation. We go on a voyage of discovery through these three appellations to look at their unique characters.

How did a bodega, founded in 1890 in Jumilla – perhaps Spain’s most under-the-radar wine region – to produce wines for France, then in the throes of phylloxera, become Europe’s leading winery by sales and the fourth largest in the world in just 130 years? Its director, José García-Carrión, recounts the incredible story of this exceptional company.

Only the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Umbria are missing from our journey through Italy's wine-growing regions. We visit them and place particular emphasis on their sustainability efforts.