The Château La Baronnie of Montagne-Saint-Émilion of Bordeaux

Bordeaux winemakers launched a large protest earlier this week to renew calls for state help, notably a subsidised scheme to pull up vines, as part of a social plan to help growers. Those marching through the city’s streets sought to highlight a cocktail of financial pressures facing winemakers. While Bordeaux is best-known as the home of major châteaux, there are thousands of winemakers across the region. Bordeaux’s wine bureau, the CIVB, has warned some growers are in ‘great econom ...

In addition to the fine wine auctions reported on previously by Decanter, further initiatives have been set up to raise money for those in crisis. UK-based wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene has been helping to relocate families fleeing from war-torn Ukraine and settle them in safe havens across Europe, in accommodation provided by the importer’s European winemakers. To help cover the logistical costs of relocating families, the importer has announced it will hold a fundraising auction and charit ...

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 ...