Blogs Articles - Wine Industry Digest

Andrew Jefford: ‘Luján de Cuyo is comforting, nourishing, maternal’

South America Decanter Sep 1, 2026 Blogs

Wine writer Andrew Jefford argues that while Argentina's Uco Valley is getting all the attention, Luján de Cuyo in Mendoza deserves recognition as a serious quality region in its own right. He describes Luján as having a gentler, more welcoming character with rounder tannins and broader textures—think more Right Bank Bordeaux than the dramatic intensity of Uco. The piece suggests the wine world risks repeating history by overlooking one fine region in favour of the newer, flashier one.

Read more From Digest #41

Tim James: Growing older, drinking differently

South Africa winemag.co.za Aug 31, 2026 Blogs

As we age, do our wine tastes change? Tim James explores this question prompted by American winewriter Terry Theise's recent essay, examining how age affects not just the wines we drink but how we experience them. It's a thought-provoking read for anyone in the trade thinking about how customer preferences evolve over time.

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I drank the $22,500 ‘Judgment of Paris’ wine – and this is what it tasted like

North America Decanter Aug 31, 2026 Blogs

A journalist recently tasted one of only 19 remaining bottles of the legendary 1973 Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon – the wine that beat French Bordeaux in the 1976 Judgment of Paris blind tasting. A sister bottle sold at Christie's for $22,500, nearly quadruple its estimate, underscoring the historical and financial significance of this Napa icon. The tasting notes offer a rare glimpse into how this historic wine has aged and why it remains one of America's most celebrated vineyard achievements.

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The smart buyer's guide to... Sake

You might also like Decanter Aug 31, 2026 Blogs

Decanter's guide cuts through the confusion around sake classification and production. The piece explains key differences like Ginjo versus Junmai, clarifies that sake is fermented rather than distilled (and closer to wine than spirits in alcohol content), and offers practical serving and pairing advice for hospitality professionals. It's a handy reference for anyone selling or recommending sake to customers.

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"By skeptics. For haters."

You might also like Joe Fattorini Aug 28, 2026 Blogs

Wine writer Joe Fattorini argues that traditional sustainability conferences are ineffective because they preach to the converted rather than changing behaviour. He highlights the 'sustainability paradox', backed by research, showing that aggressive sustainability claims often backfire with consumers, who either dismiss them as greenwashing or assume 'sustainable' means 'tasteless and expensive'. His point: if the industry wants real change, it needs to win over skeptics and critics, not just celebrate good intentions among believers.

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More wine review numbers that don't add up

UK Joe Fattorini Aug 4, 2026 Blogs

Wine critic Joe Fattorini questions whether online review platforms like Trustpilot are reliable trust signals for wine retailers. He argues that high star ratings and thousands of reviews can mask problematic business practices, citing recent investigations into subscription service Winedrops and an Advertising Standards Authority ruling against their claims. The piece suggests that personal recommendations from someone you know may be far more valuable than aggregated online ratings, challenging the assumption that more reviews automatically equal more trustworthiness.

Rediscovering Wine's Magic Triangle

Europe Wine-Searcher Jun 19, 2026 Blogs

A fascinating story about a hidden corner of Europe where grapes and terroir create their own unofficial wine region, completely unconcerned with borders and regulations. This nameless super-region proves that nature's logic often trumps human geography when it comes to quality wine production. It's a reminder that some of Europe's most interesting wine stories exist in the spaces between traditional wine regions.

The Wine Industry is Dying Because It Forgot It’s a Business

You might also like Vinetur Apr 17, 2026 Blogs

A Spanish wine publication is raising the alarm about the wine industry losing sight of basic business principles. The piece argues that despite wine's rich cultural heritage, producers and businesses need to refocus on commercial viability and sound business practices to ensure the industry's long-term survival. It's a candid look at what's going wrong behind the romance of winemaking.

Wine is a status game

You might also like Joe Fattorini Mar 5, 2026 Blogs

Wine writer Joe Fattorini argues that the wine industry's efforts to strip away 'snobbery' and 'demystify' wine could be a serious mistake. He contends that wine's high-status appeal is actually what protects it from health regulation efforts and what makes it valuable to consumers, drawing a parallel to how smoking declined once it became socially low-status. Fattorini suggests that wine's tastemakers should embrace—not reject—its ability to confer status if the industry wants to thrive.

9 things you didn't know about the world's biggest wine tasting organisation (and what it tells us about wine)

You might also like Joe Fattorini Feb 17, 2026 Blogs

Sweden's Munskänkarna wine club boasts 30,000 members across 180 local groups, making it the world's largest wine appreciation organisation, despite thriving in one of Europe's most restrictive alcohol markets. The unpronounceable name reflects the group's distinctly Swedish identity, though there are growing outposts in Finland, Norway, Belgium, and potentially London soon. It's a fascinating example of how wine community and enthusiasm can flourish in unexpected places.

Jane Anson The Wine Podcast: Single Vineyard Champagne Explained. Part 1

You might also like Wine Searcher Jan 28, 2026 Blogs

Wine expert Jane Anson explores the growing phenomenon of single vineyard Champagnes in a new podcast episode, using Clos Lanson as an example of what makes these expressions so special and sought-after. It's a fascinating look at how Champagne producers are creating more distinctive, terroir-focused wines that stand out from traditional blended offerings. If you're curious about what's happening in premium Champagne production, this is worth a listen.

Andrew Jefford: 'I wandered towards the cobalt Adriatic inlet next to the vineyards and looked back...'

You might also like Decanter Dec 24, 2025 Blogs

Andrew Jefford's got a lovely travel piece in Decanter about Croatian wine country, specifically the Dalmatian coast around Primošten. He's chatting with local winemakers and oenology professors, exploring how the region's limestone soils and Adriatic setting shape wines like Babić – it's the kind of intimate, character-driven feature that reminds you why EU wine regions are so diverse and worth paying attention to.

#104 – Xavier Jean: owner of Couvent des Jacobins

You might also like Winemakersshow Dec 22, 2025 Blogs

Xavier Jean, fourth-generation owner of Couvent des Jacobins in Saint-Émilion, sat down for an in-depth chat about building a respected Grand Cru Classé estate and launching his bold Merlot project, Calicem, outside the traditional classification. It's a fascinating look at how family-run Bordeaux estates balance staying true to their terroir and philosophy whilst expanding internationally—he's even got markets sorted in Asia—without getting caught up in chasing trends.

The Ultimate Guide To England's Wine Country

You might also like Forbes Dec 7, 2025 Blogs

Forbes has put together a guide to England's wine country, which could be useful for anyone wanting to understand the UK wine landscape better. It's the kind of piece that'll give you the lay of the land on English vineyard regions and what's happening here and some great international coverage for English Wine.

Man pokes bear while wine brand receives cease and desist letter

You might also like Joe Fattorini Nov 28, 2025 Blogs

Joe Fattorini's got a brilliant take on how English sparkling wine brand Folc deliberately baited Bollinger into sending a cease-and-desist letter over their 'pink champers' ad – and how The Times then ran it as news. It's a cheeky dissection of modern wine PR tactics and how sometimes the most obvious manufactured stories get treated as genuine news by major publications.

Jason Millar: The idea of terroir is sacred, but is it helping us to communicate what truly matters?

You might also like Decanter Nov 25, 2025 Blogs

Jason Millar's piece in Decanter challenges whether terroir has become so ubiquitous in wine marketing that it's obscuring what consumers actually care about. He traces how terroir went from being a disparaging term meaning 'taste of dirt' to becoming industry doctrine after the 1976 Judgment of Paris, and questions whether talking about alluvial marls and soil composition is really helping us sell wine or just making the industry sound pretentious.