Observations from the road and the vineyard. Field Notes is what a writer sees between the appointments: the row of vines pulled up since last year, the argument in the tasting room, the thing the winemaker said after the recorder was off. Shorter than reporting, longer than a caption, and closer to the ground than either. This is where the journal keeps its eyes open.
At Cheval des Andes, a young team, two Mendoza vineyards and a new winery are dedicated to a single wine. Our visit revealed how French discipline is being reinterpreted at the foot of the Andes, and why the 2021 vintage stood above the rest.
At Weinert, great wine begins long before the cellar. Three hours with Hubert revealed how the search for exceptional grapes, precise winemaking and patient ageing shape one of Argentina’s most distinctive wine houses.
Inside Rutini’s Gualtallary winery, optical selection, meticulous cleaning, microvinification and 5,000 barrels reveal how one of Argentina’s historic producers pursues precision across more than ten million litres of wine.
At Damascene in Elgin, Jean Smit uses gentle cellar methods to preserve the differences among Franschhoek Sémillon, Stellenbosch Cabernet Franc, regional Syrah and Moya Meaker Riesling across South Africa’s Western Cape.
Inside Bodega Garzón in Uruguay, monumental architecture, Atlantic vineyards, more than 1,000 plots, Petit Clos parcel wines and a complete Balasto vertical reveal how extraordinary scale can become precision.
At Gramona, biodynamics is not an idea displayed for visitors but a working farm of horses, chickens, medicinal plants and living soils. A visit with sixth-generation Martí Gramona reveals how family history, Corpinnat and long ageing converge in one of Penedès's most ambitious estates.
At Champagne Tarlant in Œuilly, Benoît Tarlant reads the Vallée de la Marne parcel by parcel. Chalk, limestone, clay and sand guide organic farming, separate vinification, Meunier and zero-dosage wines, revealing how geology becomes style.
Cascina Penna-Currado marks Luca Currado and Elena Penna’s new chapter in the Langhe after Vietti. From Serralunga d’Alba to Monforte and the Colli Tortonesi, the family is building a Piedmont estate around carefully chosen parcels, freshness and precise wines.
Wine news reported with the context most coverage skips: what happened, who it affects, and what it changes.
→ 02Observations from the road and the vineyard — what a writer sees between the appointments, closer to the ground.
→ 03Essays and editorial points of view. Where the journal argues — signed, unsponsored, and open to disagreement.
→ 04History, provenance and memory. Older bottles and what they still tell us long after their makers are gone.
→ 05Restaurants, places and hospitality. The lists worth travelling for and the rooms where wine is poured.
→ 06Every wine we rate on our own 01–05 scale, awarded by our tasters — never averaged, never licensed.
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