What’s in a label and the EU’s new laws

Lawyer cum sommelier Dominic Buckwell gets inspiration from the Institute of Masters of Wine webinar on Labelling rules and transparency, detailing a complex past and giving the lowdown on proposed new and potentially game-changing legislation. Laws ensuring adequate packaging and labels for food and drink to protect consumers have existed since time immemorial. Weights and measures rules date fr...
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A dearth of diversity

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Foot trodden wine and talhas in Alentejo: Simon J Woolf and Ryan Opaz kickstart their new book

Exploring the foot trodden and handmade wines of Portugal, Simon J Woolf and Ryan Opaz's new book, Foot Trodden, is being funded and brought to life through a Kickstarter campaign which is live now. In this extract, Simon explores the wines of the Alentejo region in southern Portugal, and, in particular, those that are made in talha clay pots.   The best way to understand Alentejo’s stron...
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A call to support South Africa’s wine industry: #myfavouritesouthafricanwines

HeadStart Trust south africa
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Porto Protocol: towards a future safer from climate change

Liz Sagues takes a look at the Porto Protocol and how it is helping drive forward the discussion on sustainability in the wine industry. In 2021, sustainability continues to be the green buzzword, spoken everywhere throughout the wine world. Individual and collective initiatives are legion, but have enough wine people heard of the Porto Protocol foundation? Its ambitious vision is to see a world ...
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Furztrocken – now that’s pretty dry in Deutschland

Germany
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An ever-inclusive circle

Circle Let's Talk About series
Liz Sagues looks back on the birth of the Let's Talk About... series of Circle webinars, a ray of vinous light in otherwise trying times, which have not only served to be keep members informed, but have also brought them together. She, as one of the organisers, also reveals that these wonderful web sessions will continue in 2021 and will be held twice monthly. Good can come out of bad: the corona...
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Georgia on my laptop

georgia wine region visit
Amanda Barnes takes off on a virtual tour of Georgia and its wines, made from an impressive inventory of indigenous grape varieties. I have a friend who always sees the bright side of life. It sounds rather trite to describe someone this way, but I don’t know anyone quite as capable as finding the silver lining as her. During lockdown (Lockdown 1, in April), instead of getting rather depressed ...
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Appraising Austria’s new single vineyard releases

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