Ok, not quite the whole world, but here you will find collections of pages on important winemaking countries outside of Italy and France as I explore the world of wine.

Australia 

On my way to New Zealand in 2016, see below, I spent a brilliant week in South Australia. All my posts are listed here.  

New Zealand

No trip around the world of wine is complete without New Zealand.  I was the guest of New Zealand’s’  Family of Twelve in January 2016 and was treated to an unforgettable, individual welcome at all twelve wineries of this informal but highly committed group of top wineries, covering eight main regions.  You can see all the posts on the visits and on the conference on Sauvignon Blanc, which I attended, here. 

South Africa 

In 2018, my employers, the WSET, asked me to visit South Africa’s Western Cape to keep us abreast of current developments. This was in the middle of the great drought of those years that added yet another layer to this painfully beautiful and challenging country.  Many of the insights from this visit went into the WSET Diploma study guide and you can read my personal reflections here.

England 

Although I live in Hampshire, increasingly surrounded by vineyards for English sparkling wine, I had not visited many English vineyards … until the summer of 2020. Here are my reflections on the high quality being achieved, the demands of grape growing in a cool climate with highly variable seasons and, less easy to spot, the considerable business challenges of running a successful wine business in the UK: Sparkling wine – quintessentially English.  

Spain

In Autumn 2013, I had the pleasure of visiting Rioja (and other northern Spanish regions) for the first time around the European Wine Bloggers Conference, Logroño. In addition to the people, the wine and the food it was a photographer’s delight. I visited the same city for the Institute of Masters of Wine Symposium in 2018. Here are my reflections and photos: Microbes to marketing.