Winery ChatsfieldMount Barker Cabernet Merlot

Since February 24th 2022 the world has quickly learned a great deal more about Europe’s second-largest country, Ukraine. Most notably will be our profound admiration for the Ukrainians’ continued resistance to the invading Russian Army. This is but one item on a long list that includes such things as Ukraine being one of the world’s top exporters of wheat, barley and sunflower seeds. However, many people are also now learning that Ukraine not only has a thriving winemaking sect ...

‘When I started producing wine, the wineries were all in a very bad condition,’ said Askaneli Brothers president Gocha Chkhaidze, recalling the poor state of the Georgian wine industry shortly after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. ‘There was inadequate sanitation, a lack of know-how and old-fashioned bottling lines. People were unable to make wine sustainably, vineyards were not sufficiently cared for, agronomists were unskilled and used to harvest the maximu ...

He was 23 at the time, making his first steps with the family company, unknown in the UK; I was 31 and trying to get a new career going. I met him in Portugal; he became my first wine friend. I got to know his family, and he mine; we learned and explored together. His father Rolf ran the business – effectively; though he seemed more interested in his collections of corkscrews, antique firearms and American cars than in wine. Dirk’s flat was full of old typewriters. Ceramic frogs covered every av ...