The Winery Fratelli del Vesuvio of Roccamonfina of Campanie

Do growers make wine – or do markets? Growers, of course. Yet markets define the scope of the grower’s creative efforts by what they reward or sanction. When markets are neglectful and unresponsive, there’s little the grower can do but conform. It’s a problem the world over. Here’s an example. The river Moselle/Mosel rises to the wet west of the Vosges mountains, then curves in a long green arc heading north through Epinal, Metz and (along the left bank) Luxembourg’s Grand Duchy, turning east at ...

The dark days began when I learned from a visiting Canadian friend about the death of one of the kindest, most gentle and most skilful Pinot winemakers I’ve known, Paul Pender of Tawse Winery. He died in a senseless and tragic act of violence on the evening of 3 February, outside his Lake Erie cottage. A stranger, subsequently charged with his murder, had (it seems) knocked on his door, asking for help. Paul’s sudden, untimely loss has left his family, and the broader Canadian wine community, di ...

The creation of an Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho dos Açores (IVVA), with headquarters in the island of Pico, follows the remarkable qualitative growth that the Archipelago of the Azores’ wine industry has been experiencing over the past decade. ‘People are excited about growing fruit and making wine here. There are about 300 growers producing their own fruit and a lot of small “garage” producers are starting. Some of them have worked and trained with us and are now making very interesting wines, ...