The latest vintage offers promising quality but tiny quantities; will wineries hold the pricing line? Château Pichon Baron's team has made huge improvements in the vineyard, allowing them to navigate challenging years like 2025. (Serge Chapuis) No other wine region makes a splash with a new vintage like Bordeaux. The wineries of France’s largest fine wine region use the annual futures campaign, once merely an exercise for the trade, as the chance to spark interest in the latest vintage, hosting barrel tastings for members of the trade and media, and then releasing futures in a steady stream over the following...

Cesare Cecchi, president of the consortium: “very important result to act in the right way and times considering the complexity of today”, Consorzio Vino Toscana, which protects and promotes Tuscany largest wine denomination, Toscana IGT, will now be able to speak and act on behalf of all those who claim it, whether they are members of the Consortium (which has grown from 70 members in 2019, when the renewal project began alongside the start of Cesare Cecchi presidency, to 503 members today, and over 1,750 when including winegrowers associated with cooperatives) or not. This is because the Consortium itself, headed...

Research explores cosmic radiation’s impact on Texas grapes. Texas wine grapes are headed to space. Researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife Home are sending hundreds of grape seeds to the International Space Station, where the seeds will spend approximately 6 months exposed to cosmic radiation before returning to Earth for planting and study. The project could produce what researchers believe to be the first wine made from grapes grown from seeds that traveled through space. The experiment is part of the Texas A&M/Aegis Aerospace Multi-Use Space Platform Integrating Research and Innovative Technology, TAMU-SPIRIT, research mission. TAMU-SPIRIT-1 is a first-of-its-kind orbital research...

ASI Strengthens Global Reach at 2026 General Assembly in Taiwan. Lebanon and India become full ASI member countries, the UAE joins the College of Applicants, and future milestones are confirmed for Lisbon, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East, Argentina and Japan. The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) recently concluded its 2026 General Assembly in Taiwan, bringing together member association presidents, partners, educators and sommeliers from around the world for meetings, cultural exchange and discussions on the past, present and future of the profession. Hosted by the Taiwan Sommelier Association under the leadership of Howard Hsia, the General Assembly combined...

Slow Food and Terra Madre founder died in his Bra at the age of 76, and transformed eating into a political, cultural, and poetic act. Carlo Petrini passed away, one of the most influential figures in gastronomic culture, and not only, of our time. Founder of Slow Food and Terra Madre, he died last night at the age of 76 in Bra, the town where he was born. With him, we lose one of the greatest intellectuals of our era, capable of transforming the simple act of eating into a political, cultural, and poetic act. His philosophy of “good, clean,...

Honored and proud to present Manuel Negrete the internationally recognized Mexican sommelier, wine educator, and judge with certifications from ASI, WSET, and the Court of Master Sommeliers. He has represented Mexico in international competitions and worked with organizations such as the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. You began your sommelier training at just 21—what drew you to the world of wine so early, and what has kept you passionate about it ever since? While I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree, I was looking for a job as an administrative assistant to earn some money...

Vineyard sales are far from being in decline and for the investor “scarcity beats scale”, reveals the new Wealth Report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank. But which regions are “trading up” in value terms? db reports. Much has been made of the declining desirability of owning a vineyard, with a spate of high-profile sell-ups last year suggesting that owners are cashing in their investments and getting out. However, the latest annual Wealth Report by independent real estate company Knight Frank paints a rather different picture and signals the regions worth focusing on for prospective buyers. According to the report,...

In the 1970s, French wines were revered in America, but only by an elite few. This same class of wine lovers also considered their homegrown offerings to be something of a joke. Then, on May 24th 1976, a blind tasting competition in France dubbed “The Judgment of Paris” pitted northern Californian wines against French equivalents. California triumphed, propelling the wines, their producers, and Napa Valley onto the world wine stage, while proving to both global critics and domestic drinkers alike that the United States was capable of fine wine greatness. The event kickstarted a golden age of vine plantings and...

Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Davit Songulashvili, participated in an international conference organized by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. The conference, titled ‘Recognition of the Cultural Value of Vine and Wine: International Perspectives,’ brought together international stakeholders to discuss the role of viticulture in cultural heritage and economic development. During his address, Songulashvili emphasized that wine in Georgia extends beyond its role as a beverage, describing it as an integral part of national identity and everyday life. He noted that wine culture is deeply embedded in Georgian art, literature, cinema, music and social traditions. The minister...

The Verona wine show concluded yesterday with Vinitaly 2026 coming at a pivotal moment for the Italian wine industry. Louis Thomas reports on the biggest trends from the fair. Approximately 90,000 attendees, 26% of whom were international visitors, flocked to Verona for Vinitaly 2026. With producers, co-operatives and consorzi from every Italian region present, the show presented a wine sector in flux, with many of the old certainties and ways of thinking being replaced with fresh ideas and approaches. Some of the challenges of recent years – tariffs and falling alcohol consumption – have not changed, but possible solutions to...

A winemaker as international as he was rooted in the Bordeaux vineyards, Michel Rolland was inseparable from the prosperous period of Robert Parker's influence on the wine industry, having created the concept of the flying winemaker and accompanied the development of garage wines. Not missing a good word, nor a joke, Michel Rolland was a free figure in the sector, scratching where it hurts, while defending Bordeaux production in the face of ever more exacerbated difficulties. This Friday, March 20 at the morning of the Bordeaux Oenologists' Association: one of their most eminent representatives, Michel Rolland, has just passed away....

As of today, the Gérard Basset Foundation is welcoming applications for the 2026 Artémis Domaines Golden Vines® Victims of Conflict Scholarships. The Artémis Domaines Golden Vines® Victims of Conflict Scholarships offer meaningful assistance and career progression to wine professionals who have been affected by war and geo-political conflict. Each Scholar receives a 6-month paid, bespoke internship at one of Artémis Domaines’ world-renowned estates. Created in 1993, Artémis Domaines selectively invests in high-quality vineyards and terroirs with a view to managing and developing them over the long term. Artémis Domaines owns 9 properties in Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, Champagne, the...

Allwinestories proudly hosts Sanja Kovacevic, the artist behind the art project, Winerelle. Sanja bridges art and oenology, turning fermentation, oxidation and stain into visual storytelling. What inspired you to move from Serbia to rapidly evolving urban environments like Guangzhou and Dubai, and how did those cities shape your artistic identity? I grew up in northern Serbia, where grapevines grow beside almost every house. My upbringing was rooted in Serbian cultural layers, history, and art, but after graduating from the art academy, I started dreaming about open horizons. Guangzhou and later Dubai felt like artistic labs: places where nothing is fixed...

Once a year in early March, the heart of Burgundy, in Beaune, beats to the rhythm of wine tasting. There, wine experts from around the world—oenologists, sommeliers, merchants, journalists, and experienced wine lovers—gather in Beaune for one purpose: to discover wines that truly stand out. The competition is open to producers, cooperative wineries, and négociants from Burgundy and Beaujolais, covering white, rosé, red, and sparkling AOC wines. Thus, the institution captures the entire spectrum of the region – from elegant Chardonnays to expressive Pinot Noirs and fruity Beaujolais, as well as Crémant de Bourgogne. From 2022, wines from Franche-Comté will...

Cecilia Alarcón, Chilean wine ambassador in Italy, tells us how it was, and why, that Quillón is already the art of the international network of wine cities. We are proud, the commune of Quillón joins the "National Association of Wine Cities". This milestone of great relevance for Quillón, the Itata Valley and the Ñuble region, – makes Quillón the first Chilean municipality to be part of this distinguished international network of wine cities through the National Association of Città del Vino. An important step that will strengthen the local wine identity, where Quillón will play a strategic role in the...

The first Italian woman to achieve the title: “Italian wine is meant to be experienced with new words and with a gaze which is finally free”. Italy plays a “four-of-a-kind” at the table of “The Institute of Masters of Wine”, with the first Italian woman to reach the milestone. Cristina Mercuri was officially announced today as a Master of Wine, becoming “the first Italian woman to obtain one of the most selective titles in the international wine world. A recognition which certifies technical expertise, academic rigor and leadership skills. Her name now joins those of the other three Italian Masters...

The Cantine Florio winemaker was presented with db‘s prestigious award at Wine Paris, describing it as “a starting point” for new projects at the Marsala winery. The 2026 edition of the Master Winemaker 100 guide launched at Wine Paris this week, with an exclusive ceremony to offer first access to the guide and announce the winner of its top award: Master Winemaker of the Year. This year, the accolade went to Tommaso Maggio, who has been winemaker at Marsala producer Cantine Florio for the past 28 years. He achieved the award through a string of top medals for Cantine Florio,...

It has often been said that wine warms the body, gives sparkle to the eyes, and has always been an ally of love.Wine is the drink of togetherness and romance. After all, a bottle of wine is meant to be shared by two until the end of the evening… As Valentine’s Day approaches, we share style tips and suggestions for wine, food, and the appropriate musical backdrop—elements worth savoring and creating together. A well-known song hints that love was made for two and that a third always brings separation. Or maybe not. Because if we judge by the compelling trio...

Alsatian wines are in mourning with the sudden loss of one of its pillars, an owner-merchant who left his mark on the industry and its consumers with his quest for "balance, balance and balance" The orphaned wines of Alsace by Pierre Heydt-Trimbach. The 69-year-old owner-merchant died accidentally on January 31 near Ammerschwihr (Haut-Rhin). His vehicle left the road and ended up on its roof in a ditch and against a concrete nozzle. Pierre Heydt-Trimbach died in the evening. His name has been attached since 1985, the year of his return to Alsace after six months in California, to the eponymous...