The flavor of black raspberry in wine

After a two-year hiatus due to Covid, the UK Sommelier of the Year competition was back with a bang and saw Arnese bag the highly-respected title on Monday 18th July 2022. He pipped this year’s runner-up Agnieszka Swiecka (The Five Fields Restaurant) and 2019 runner-up Gareth Ferreira (Core by Clare Smyth) to the post. The competition is organised by The Caterer in partnership with the UK Sommelier Academy (UKSA) – a new non-profit organisation, officially launched yesterday – which provid ...

Christmas, famously, is not about religion any more. But as a Decanter reader, you’ll also know that it’s not about giving, family or food either. No, it’s about drink. The one time of year when we get to open the good stuff without anyone questioning what we’re doing. And of course, there’s no shortage of advice as to what form those bottles should take. Every year, hacks in newspapers, magazines and websites tell us how to make the big day go with a bang. But these don’t correspond with the re ...

This is the highest level set since the 2008 vintage, and comes off the back of continued sales growth of Champagne around the world. It is in stark contrast to the 2020 vintage, which was set at 8,000kg per hectare, one of the lowest yields set in recent years, following both drought and a vast drop in consumer demand during the pandemic, which saw sales drop by 18%. In 2021, Champagne experienced one of its most difficult growing seasons for many years, with frost, hail, rain and disease wreak ...