It’s been another busy year, packed with my continuing work for WSET (two days a week) and much Italian wine travel. Here are some highlights from a hectic year, with apologies for the long post.
Winery profiles for Nebbia e Luce
2025 saw me completing my ‘dream job’, writing profiles of 25 wineries for the Nebbiolo specialist company, Nebbia e Luce. Its business idea is to buy Nebbiolo wines, store them for an additional five years, and then release them as mature wines at a reasonable price. Thus, Barolo 2015 will be released next year as ready-to-drink wines at Nebbia e Luce’s launch in spring 2026. I was commissioned to visit the producers, interview them and write detailed winery profiles: the history of the company and the place, what motivates them to produce their wines. The full catalogue and new website will appear in the spring. And one job has led to another, see below on Northern Piemonte.
Andrea Mosca and Giovanna Pepe of Noah winery, Bramaterra; view from Paitin, Barbaresco; Elia Pasquero of Paitin, Barbaresco
White wine on the rise in Piemonte
It was only after I had published my book, The Wines of Piemonte, that I discovered the data on plantings by hectare and grape variety in the region. For the persistent researcher, the regional government’s website allows you to work out how the number of hectares under vine, by variety, has changed since 2008. In a region famous for its red wines, plantings of black grape varieties fell by 11 per cent (2008–24), while those of white varieties rose by a remarkable 25 per cent. While this broadly aligns with world trends (more white wine is being drunk), it is still surprising. The big winners were Arneis, Timorasso and Chardonnay (for both still and sparkling wine). My article on this was published in Decanter (Piedmont’s shifting focus) in April and is available on the Decanter Premium website. On a personal note, it was touching to be published by Decanter, as I was a subscriber to this magazine when I first became seriously interested in wine. I also made a presentation on this theme at Vinitaly in Verona in April, using prime tasting samples, another first.
Regenerative viticulture, Cinsault and South Coasters in South Africa; and orange wines in Italy/Slovenia
I had the fantastic chance to revisit South Africa for the WSET, six years after my first research trip there. Janet and I saw several remarkable examples of growers putting regen into practice: no tilling to sequester carbon; use of cover crops; animals and birds in the vineyards to build up biodiversity and reduce pests (geese protect the snail-eating ducks from lynx!); high-density controlled grazing by cattle or pigs; and spraying with homemade compost ‘tea’. Other important themes were the rise (or rebirth) of Cinsault as an alternate lighter style red and the growth of wineries on the South Coast beyond Hermanus and Elgin. However exciting the wines are, the industry continues to struggle: 40 per cent of wineries are trading at a loss. Such a beautiful country, such great people and so many challenges on every front. In September, on another WSET research visit, I had a week in Oslavia and Brda to visit the wineries making orange/amber wines. My article on this will appear on the WSET’s blog page early in the new year. In the meantime, you can read my piece there on What is a Super Tuscan?
Visiting Ntsiki Biyela of Aslina; meeting old vine heroines, Nadia Hefer (left) and Rosa Kruger (right); discarded amphorae at Gravner; Gravner, Ribolla Gialla 2016 in the glass
The clash of the deadlines
Spring 2025 saw three major deadlines coincide. Every year, the update to the Diploma in Wines textbooks is needed by the beginning of May for the next academic year. This year, two more major deadlines followed at the end of that month. First, the full text of my profiles for Nebbia e Luce, which turned out to be 30,000 words, had to be ready. Second, my 400-page Piemonte book needed updating and revising so it could be translated into Italian. This is such an honour! The region-wide promotional body, Piemonte Land of Wine, is sponsoring the translation. Special thanks are due to Francesco Monchiero (president) and Stefano Ricagno (vice president), who have taken this initiative forward. The Italian version, published by specialist translator of wine books, Edizioni Ampelos, will be launched in Verona at Vinitaly in April. There will also be an updated second edition of the English version. May 2025 reminded me of those crazy last months writing the book in the spring of 2023.
Wine Scholar Guild: Piemonte tour
I have led informal tours in France and Italy for the last 15 years, mainly for wine lovers in north Hampshire. I love visiting wine regions with interested people to learn and experience the place, the people and the wine together. So I am thrilled to become the regular wine guide for Wine Scholar Guild for Piemonte. The first tour was in June, in 2026 there will be two tours and, modest plug, there are still some places on the October, wine and truffles tour.
Visiting Castello di Neive; tasting at Oddero, La Morra; visiting La Court, Michele Chiarlo
Northern Piemonte: the new frontier
Building on my work for Nebbia e Luce, owner Simon Farr has encouraged me to write an annual report on the wines of Northern Piemonte. It will cover the ten Nebbiolo denominations of Alto Piemonte (Gattinara, Ghemme and more), the Nebbiolo of unique Carema and the outstanding white wines made with the Erbaluce variety right across Northern Piemonte. Barolo and Barbaresco are world-famous Nebbiolo wines, but with a warming climate and rising prices, wine buyers and consumers ought to be looking to the slightly cooler, better value wines of Northern Piemonte. In November, Janet and I attended the annual Taste Alto Piemonte tasting, this year in beautiful Stresa on Lake Maggiore, and visited Gattinara, Ghemme, Lessona and Caluso, the centre for Erbaluce. This report will be launched in March 2026.
As you can read, this has been a professionally and personally rewarding year. The four years of research that led to my Piemonte book have brought so many exciting opportunities, beyond my wildest dreams. In addition to the above, there were many lovely events in 2025: a visit to Sicily for Sicilia en primeur in May; leading an online tasting for North American members of the International Wine and Food Society; a proper holiday in July visiting friends in Devon and also in Kent; a half-and-half holiday in Volterrra, Montalcino and Siena while reconnecting with the Tuscan wine scene; a second visit to the Nebbiolo outpost, Valtellina; a press trip to Monferrato Casalese (Piemonte) for Grignolino and Barbera; serving as the wine advisor for a 40th wedding anniversary held at Claridge’s Hotel; and attending Circle of Wine Writers’ social events.
Thanks for getting this far! I wish you all the best for 2026.
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