News from Jancis Robinson

First love, and surely the perfect wine for a heatwave. Many more Rieslings to savour tomorrow in Michael's next tranche of tasting notes, on 122 new releases (mostly 2019s) from the Rheingau. For as long as I have taken wine seriously, Riesling has had a special place in my heart. For one, it is the first wine I guessed correctly in a blind

Napa Valley as seen by a fresh, fascinated pair of eyes. Samantha Cole-Johnson, shortlisted for a 2020 Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Award, has arrived to do a vintage in one of the most coveted wine regions in the world. My first impression of Napa was, perhaps inappropriately, made pre-arrival. ‘It’s like Disneyland for adults’

Ed Verrill writes, 'Taking a break from London wine bars, I moved to Australia for my first vintage in 2018, having been put in touch with Rollo Crittenden (pictured above) through work. Heading straight to the Mornington Peninsula, I wasn’t fully sure what was in store, but needless to say it was an unforgettable experience (for all the right

Our 2020 writing competition moves to Chile today with the first of two entries (so far) about the country's first sustainable winery. 'My name is Elizabeth Yabrudy. I am from Caracas, Venezuela. I am a Journalist, Certified Wine Educator (CWE), Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) and Professional Sommelier with strong focus on wine education. I currently

Morgan Mellish CSW is the sales projects manager for Cowhorn Vineyard in Jacksonville, Oregon. He makes a passionate bid for the inclusion of Cowhorn Vineyard in the roll call of the world's most sustainable vineyards in our summer writing competition. See this guide to the entries so far published. Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden is the very first Li

Tim goes in search of superior Prosecco. Arcangelo Piaia took this picture of some of the better sites in this popular region. I have been a Prosecco sceptic. A decade of rapid sales growth, especially in the number-one market, the UK, has flooded many markets around the world with lightweight, often slightly sweet – but above all, cheap –

Mauzac sparkles in the hills of Limoux. From €10.80, £10.95, CA$19, 2,420 Japanese yen, 155 Brazilian reais Find this wine Françoise Antech is a fierce spirit. She’s the sixth generation to run this winery that specialises in the traditional sparkling wines of the region, following in the footsteps of four women who were instrumental in

A Spanish winemaking dynasty is celebrated by two members of our team. Ferran writes I recently heard from our Tim Jackson MW who said he had tasted Contino wines and met the winemaker of this Rioja estate, Jorge Navascués. He seemed excited and this is hardly surprising because in Spain Navascués is a famous name. When you add the prestige of

Carmen Stevens, winemaker and owner of the first 100% Black-owned winery, chose to answer questions rather than write an account of her life in South African wine. See this guide to our recent South African coverage. What is your role in the South African wine industry? My aim is to make sure that the wine I produce is of premium quality to

Going crazy about Kadarka and Kékfrankos in southern Hungary … Szekszárd, pronounced, rather memorably, ‘sex-sard’, is one of Hungary’s red-wine regions. This small county, with its 2,153 ha (5,320 acres) of vineyard, lies almost directly south of Budapest on the Transdanubian Hills, around 70 km (43 miles) from both the Serbian and Croatian

The next entry for our 2020 summer wine writing competition is from Paul Temperton, who describes himself as 'Economist and neighbour of David and Lynne Levin in Buckinghamshire, UK'. As usual, we will present entries as they were sent to us. See this guide to the entries so far published. For believers in nominative determinism, it will be no

Jacky Blisson is a Canadian wine writer and educator in the final phase of study for the coveted Master of Wine title. Upon completing an international wine commerce master’s degree in Beaune, France, Jacky worked harvest seasons in Burgundy and the Walker Bay, South Africa. During her 11-year sojourn in France, Jacky was employed as UK and North

See this guide to our considerable, and growing, coverage of the exceptional 2019 vintage and other current releases of German wine. In this instalment, devoted to two of many German-wine lovers' favourite regions, Michael Schmidt presents nearly 170 tasting notes. They should be read in conjunction with many more in two articles on wines offered

Here are links to the entries in this year's writing competition that have so far been published. The competition – deadline 15 August, with a prize worth £380 – is designed to encourage articles about the producers who are making wine in such a way that leaves the smallest possible footprint on the planet and invests in the future. As Tim

In the spring an old man's fancy lightly turns to cheering us all up. Brian Croser ruminates in the Adelaide Hills. The annual cycle turns regardless of drought, bushfires and COVID-19. The wattles are in full blossom, the jonquils and daffodils are flowering, the magnolia and almond blossoms are just emerging and we are pruning Tiers Vineyard.

When he first tasted Barolo 2016s late last year, Walter was excited. His second major tasting, conducted in strictest socially distanced conditions as shown above, left him eager for more. The clear triumph of Barolo in 2016, an exceptional vintage that potentially eclipses the highly acclaimed 2010, continued in my second tasting of this

The final tranche of Languedoc and Roussillon 2020 presents reds from producers whose (sur)names are M to Z, with the sweet wines at the end. See reds part 1 for producers with (sur)names from A to L. Whites and sparkling wines are reviewed here and the rosés made their way into a subsection of Rosés for 2020. There were so many great – not just

A superior dry white and an extremely superior, but rare, rosé from the Pyrenean foothills. From €17.90, 22 Swiss francs, £22 Find L'Esprit de l'Horizon Blanc 2018 Two wines I’d like to draw your attention to this week: Dom de l’Horizon, L’Esprit de l’Horizon Blanc 2018 IGP Côtes Catalanes is a really exciting white, but Dom de l’Horizon

As explained in this week's wine of the week, L'Esprit de l'Horizon Blanc 2018 Côtes Catalanes, UK retailer Swig is offering 20% off these three very special wines from Domaine de l'Horizon for those who order pre-arrival in late August. Wine Usual price Price for Purple Pagers L'Esprit de l'Horizon Blanc 2018 £27.50 £22 Do

Proof of the efficacy of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme … My story starts in a place called Mitchells Plain where I grew up with my family. Mitchells Plain is what one would call a ghetto, a township on the Cape Flats south-east of Cape Town where Cape coloured people live. While staying there I was exposed to many things (mainly