The prejudice that still follows summer wines For decades, a summer wine meant a simple wine. Easy to drink, easy to forget: a wine to cool you down, not one to pay attention to. That association took such deep root that, even today, many people hear “summer wine” and think of something lesser. Less complex,…
What natural wine is, and what it is not Minimal intervention has become a creed. And like every creed, once it hardens into dogma it loses the ability to question itself. The natural wine movement began as a legitimate reaction to an over-industrialised system of production, where chemistry had replaced terroir and technology had erased…
When not acting is a choice In the cellar, there is a constant temptation to intervene. Control temperatures. Adjust acidity. Filter. Fine. Fine-tune. Technical knowledge lets us do almost anything, and that creates a dangerous illusion: that more intervention means better wine. It does not always. There are moments when the best move is not…
When explaining wine becomes a problem There is a curious moment at many tables. Someone pours the wine. Someone asks what it is. And before the first sip, a long explanation begins: the region, the altitude, the grape, the fermentation, the ageing, the barrel. Suddenly the wine is no longer a drink. It is a…
A change that has already begun Something has changed in the way we drink wine, and it is not only in the statistics. Younger generations drink less. Concern for health has grown. Our relationship with alcohol has become more conscious, sometimes more suspicious. Wine, which for decades was a symbol of automatic conviviality, now has…
When a number seems enough We live in an age that likes numbers. We rate hotels, restaurants, books, films and, of course, wines. A high score reassures the buyer. A ranking promises guidance. A medal creates confidence. But there is a question rarely asked honestly: can a number capture quality in wine? Scores have become…
The gesture of opening a bottle There is a moment at the end of the year that interests me more than the noise. It is the simple gesture of opening a bottle. Not as a symbol of celebration, but as a small ritual of attention. The hand rests on the neck, the corkscrew goes in…
Christmas as a ritual, not a commercial event There is a quiet difference between living Christmas and merely getting through Christmas. The first happens when time slows down. When the house smells of food made in advance. When the table is laid with care, not to “look nice” but to welcome. The second is Christmas…
On my recent trip through North America, I once again had the pleasure of meeting exceptional people, each remarkable in their own way and at very different stages of life. In every city I visited, I tasted and shared wines, told and listened to stories, and once again felt that the people around the world…