Category Archives: Great Winemakers

Graham Beck: Exclusive Focus on Premium Sparkling

Posted on February 18, 2019 by don

Industrialist Graham Beck founded his eponymous vineyard and winery in Robertson in 1983.  A few years later Pieter Ferreira joined Graham Beck, making his first sparkling wine  (called MCC or Methode Cap Classique in South Africa) in 1991. We visited … Continue reading →

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Richard Kershaw Lifts Elgin to New Heights

Posted on February 11, 2019 by don

Richard Kershaw, South Africa’s first MW (Master of Wine), worked at wineries around the world (including Simi in California) before becoming winemaker at Mulderbosch  and then, in 2012, starting his own eponymous winery in Elgin, South Africa’s coolest growing area. … Continue reading →

Posted in Chardonnay, Countries and Regions, Great Winemakers, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, Shiraz, South Africa, Uncategorized, White Wine, Wine Articles, Wine Type | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hermann J. Wiemer of the Finger Lakes: A Great American Winery

Posted on February 4, 2019 by don

Hermann J. Wiemer is one of the pioneers of viticulture and winemaking in the Finger Lakes. A native of Bernkastel, Germany, he studied at the world famous Neustadt Viticultural Research Institute, took a winemaking job in the Finger Lakes, and … Continue reading →

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Austria’s Talented New Winemakers

Posted on January 11, 2019 by don

While traveling around Austria meeting winemakers and tasting wine for our recently published report Austrian Wine: Diverse Terroir, Exceptional Quality, we met the new generation that has entered Austria’s wine industry in recent years. They work in various capacities, although most … Continue reading →

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French-Trained Chilean Winemakers: New Releases from Antiyal, Apaltagua, Domus Aurea, Maquis

Posted on April 8, 2016 by don

No country in the Americas has been so strongly influenced by French winemaking as Chile. Aspiring Chilean winemakers go to France to study enology or work the harvests. And French winemakers and winemaking consultants go to Chile to make wine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile, Countries and Regions, Great Winemakers, Red Wine, Uncategorized, Wine Articles, Wine Type | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Domaine Alice et Olivier de Moor of Chablis

Posted on April 21, 2015 by don

In preparing a new report on Chablis, we recently met up with Alice and Oliver de Moor in Courgis, located about 7 km southwest of Chablis.  They started their vineyards 20 years ago with just three parcels [Bel-Air, Clardy, Rosette] … Continue reading →

Posted in Chardonnay, Countries and Regions, France, Great Winemakers, Uncategorized, White Wine, Wine Articles, Wine Type | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Michel Rolland’s New Spanish Wines

Posted on October 14, 2014 by don

Michel Rolland has made wine all over the world, and we’ve tasted his wines in many of the places where we’ve traveled—Argentina, South Africa, and, of course, France.  Now, he extends his global reach to a neighboring country, Spain, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Countries and Regions, Great Winemakers, Red Wine, Spain, Uncategorized, White Wine, Wine Articles, Wine Type | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Women Winemakers of Rioja

Posted on June 18, 2014 by don

Women have always played an important role in tending the vines, picking the fruit, and pressing the grapes in Rioja, but in recent years they have also assumed an important role in winemaking. Indeed, no other wine region of the … Continue reading →

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Dr. Konstantin Frank Wines from the New York Finger Lakes

Posted on May 30, 2014 by don

Dr. Konstantin Frank, the creative force behind the establishment of the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery in New York’s Finger Lakes region is one of the wine world’s most colorful wine pioneers.  Today the family-run winery is managed by Fred Frank, … Continue reading →

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Jean-Philippe Colmant’s Superb South African Sparklers

Posted on April 16, 2014 by don

In the 16th century, French-speaking Huguenots from France and Southern Belgium emigrated to South Africa where they planted vines and made wine.  Four hundred years later, the French-speaking Belgian, Jean-Philippe Colmant followed in their footsteps, locating in the picturesque town … Continue reading →

Posted in Countries and Regions, Great Winemakers, South Africa, Sparkling Wine, Uncategorized, Wine Articles, Wine Type | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment