The Winery Christos Spiliotopoulos of Messinia of Peloponnesos

Springtime brings the so-called ‘Caldaia di Maggio’ to Barolo, a noise similar to a kettle simmering that is caused by evaporating water in the soils. This year, however, it’s unlikely that this phenomenon will occur. Drought is affecting the entire north of Italy; predominantly the Langhe but also Valpolicella and Franciacorta. Not even Tuscany is spared. The vineyards are lacking the reserves of water that their soils usually contain at this time of year. Winter passed without snow in almost a ...

Last year, there was much mirth on wine Twitter about a particularly excruciating tasting note. You’re right. The wine trade needs to get out more. But still… this one was a beauty. It began well enough – really quite beautiful, in fact. But before long the imaginative descriptions were getting more ornate and strained. It moved from poetic to meaningless before finishing with a reference to Burnt Norton – the first of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets – that put it firmly in Private Eye magazine’s ...

Brad Pitt has filed a lawsuit against Angelina Jolie at a Los Angeles court regarding her sale of a stake in Provence winery Château Miraval last year, according to media reports, including in Bloomberg (via Associated Press) and the Los Angeles Times. There had been speculation for several years about how Pitt and Jolie’s divorce proceedings would affect their joint ownership of Miraval, which they acquired in 2008. It was the Hollywood couple’s wedding venue but the estate has also gained a re ...