The best winemakers of Central

Following the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Decanter World Wine Awards will be cancelling the entries for any Russian wineries which have entered the competition, and their wines will not be judged. As a gesture of support for our Ukrainian entrants, we will be waiving their fees. We realise that the world’s winemakers have more that unites than divides them, but we feel we have to make a stand. All of us at Decanter and the DWWA are hoping and praying for a peaceful resolution to th ...

Franciacorta has lost one of its fathers; Franco Ziliani died aged 90 this Christmas. He was the winemaker who, along with the Count Guido Berlucchi, changed the destiny of an entire region and helped make Franciacorta one of the most consistent areas in the world for sparkling wines made in the traditional method. Their fateful encounter was in 1958 at Palazzo Lana, in Franciacorta. Count Berlucchi began to question the young winemaker about how to improve his unstable white wine produced in Co ...

When asked which is the most exciting appellation in the Rhône, there’s one that currently springs to mind before all others: Tavel. I have to be honest with you: I don’t buy much rosé. So, given that Tavel is, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine, ‘one of France’s few all-rosé appellations,’ my response might be unexpected. The Oxford Companion is technically correct, of course – the wines made here are paler than a typical red wine. But compared to other rosés, that’s where the comparison ...