Vintage Wine & Port Blog

2018 Vintage Port Declaration

Posted 18 May 2020

by Dia Grigoriou and Tony Carter

Harvest at the Quinta do Noval winery. Credit: David Silverman/Getty Images

Shippers in the Douro announced that 2018 was another fabulous year for port wines. A few port shippers declared a classic vintage whilst others opted to declare their best single vineyard ports instead.

The declaration occurred in line with the tradition of declaring a vintage port on or after St. Gorges Day, 23^rd April each year.

The 2018s are showing things are heating up in the Douro. Proof is that some shippers offered a rare third consecutive year declaration for their Vintage Port, following the exceptional 2016 & 2017 vintages.

The Regions of Bordeaux

Posted 2 March 2020

by Jamie Ashcroft

France is known as a powerhouse for expensive and high-quality wines, with Bordeaux at the heart of its reputation. But while many know where the Bordeaux area is in the country, not many know of its various sub-regions, appellations and communes or the little differences between them which can create very different wines. Read on for a quick overview of the most important areas to learn about.

Accurately Dating Old Wines

Posted 21 February 2020

by Jamie Ashcroft

The forgery of wines has always been an issue, but recent stories like the Jefferson bottles have brought it more into the public eye. Nowadays the industry is fighting back with special seals and high-tech labels but thankfully, forgeries of aged wines are becoming easier to detect with the advancement of science.