Meet the Member: Geoffrey Dean

Geoffrey Dean has been writing about cricket since the late 1980s and it was on some of those cricketing adventures abroad that he fell into the world of wine. Since completing the WSET Diploma in 2011, he divides his time between wine regions and cricket tours, writing for several sports and drinks publications in the UK today. Amanda Barnes interviews him for our Meet the Member interview, while...
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Snapping Santorini

Jon Wyand shoots wine, wineries, vintners, vineyards, white churches and the breeze in a study trip diary about the superbly scenic Cyclades island that’s written from a photographer’s angle and perspective. Monday 17th April. 4 am. The big day has arrived. Everyone has been telling me how wonderful Santorini is. ‘A photographer’s paradise,’ one winemaker emailed me. I’m to join half a dozen win...
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Counteracting climate change

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The Hungarian sparkling revolution

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Gallery: Winemaker portraits by Patrick Eagar

Circle member Patrick Eagar has dug deep into his photography archive to share ten portraits of winemakers in France, Australia and Lebanon with us in a new Gallery on The Circular. Please respectfully note that all of these photos, and all the Circle of Wine Writer galleries, are not to be republished without the photographer’s permission. Any usage without permission is an infringement of c...
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Delving into the different vinous chapters of Klein Constantia

Amanda Barnes takes a taste and read through Klein Constantia: The home of Vin de Constance. Books are always better when they’re enjoyed with wine — especially when they’re wine books. Even more so when you can drink the very wine described in the book — and so was my experience with the latest release from John Stimpfig’s First Press Editions’ Klein Constantia: The home of Vin de Constance. The...
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Rekindling the magic of Montes de Málaga 

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Awe-inspiring Amarone

Filippo Magnani finds himself revelling in the new releases of Valpolicella’s finest and shares his top tips both on what to taste and where to stay. The Amarone Opera Prima took place this year on 4th and 5th February, majestically organized by the Valpolicella Wine Consortium, at the Gran Guardia Palace in the heart of Verona. The president of the consortium, Christian Marchesini, opened the ev...
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Eli Ben-Zaken, the pioneer who built an Israeli icon

Adam S. Montefiore reflects on the extraordinary life of Israeli vigneron Eli Ben-Zaken in this short extract from his recently published biography on Domaine du Castel.  I picture Eli Ben-Zaken in the summer of 2021, standing on his own outside his house and winery at Ramat Razi’el as he defiantly fought against the fierce wildfires in the hills and forests that rise towards Jerusalem. The flame...
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Seeing beyond Semillon

Amanda Barnes hones in on Hunter Valley, finding a fine spread of varieties and styles, including fresh takes on its signature grape. It may be Semillon that Hunter Valley is best known for, but as a recent New South Wales tasting set out to prove — the region can do a whole lot more.  Australia’s first Albariño was planted here, in the Hunter Valley, back in 2014, which spurred on a bit of an A...
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