The flavor of gooseberry in wine of Kutjevo

A man and woman carried out the ‘meticulously planned’ theft at the Atrio hotel and restaurant in western Spain back in October. They made off with a bottle of 1806 Château D’Yquem and a large haul of Domaine de la Romanée Conti after breaking into Atrio’s famous cellar. That sparked a nine-month international manhunt. Police in Spain teamed up with Interpol and Europol, plus authorities in Romania and the Netherlands, to track a pair of suspects down. They eventually swooped on a 29-year-old Me ...

I first contributed to Decanter back in November 1988; the hundreds of columns and articles I’ve written since constitute a journey of discovery. I squirm, though, if I’m described as a ‘wine expert’. Whatever wine knowledge we acquire quickly cools, congeals and crusts over, like custard or gravy, as the years pass. The wine world expands at a clip. Every vintage rewrites history. It’s the chance to share discoveries – not just about wines, but about people, places and the act of drinking itsel ...

A judge ordered a cumulative bail of €65 million (£56m) be set for six defendants in the case, and the court is asking for up to €25m in damages – based on information that the fraudulent scheme helped the company to generate more than €14m in net profits between 2019 and 2021 alone. The case started in late 2021 when news broke that three Denominations of Origin (DOs) in the Catalunya region – those representing Montsant, Priorat, and Terra Alta – had filed legal proceedings against the wine co ...