The Mondavis shaped the Napa we know today – but now Tim Mondavi is building a new future for his family with Continuum. As the 2021 vintage is released, Sophie Thorpe spoke to Tim about the project – and how it’s about much more than wine “I was broken-hearted,” says Tim Mondavi, his eyes glistening at the memory of how his family was forced out of their business, Robert Mondavi Winery, 20 years ago. Wine runs through the Mondavi family’s veins. Cesare Mondavi – Tim’s grandfather – made his first vintage in 1919, and the family purchased Charles Krug Winery in 1943, before Robert broke away ..read more

To craft world-class wine, every stage of production demands an obsessive attention to detail – and it’s just so at Ch. d’Yquem. In the latest instalment of our series taking you behind the scenes in Bordeaux, we talk to those who ensure every bottle of liquid gold is nothing less than perfect “We take risks every day,” Vanessa Martin says to me. If you didn’t know we were standing in a winery, you might think Martin was a fighter pilot, a firewoman or perhaps a double agent. The two women standing in front of me, Martin and her colleague Chantal Uldry, aren’t necessarily the image of risk-tak ..read more

Francisco Baettig’s project in Chile’s volcanic south is wowing critics. In 2022, we caught up with founders Francisco Baettig and Carlos de Carlos to find out more  Chile is already well-known for producing top-quality Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, Pinot Noir. But the wines tend to translate the intense solar energy synonymous with the region – producing fat, juicy, candied-fruit wines that lack the tension and minerality that the world’s very top examples exude. Baettig, however, is a notable exception – something that was highlighted by a recent vertical of the young estate ..read more

We are hosting a series of seminars and dinners with a remarkable roster of producers at the most keenly anticipated fine wine and food festival of the year, Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2024. Read what’s in store at the four-day festival running from Thursday 4th April to Sunday 7th April. Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, America’s foremost food and wine event, is back in April. This year, 125 globally celebrated chefs, 150 wineries, and the industry’s glitterati will descend on the iconic Pebble Beach Resorts – located on the coast of Monterey – for four remarkable days that will ..read more

Sheep grazing on Donum’s estate in Carneros, which is dotted with its impressive sculpture collection For more than two decades, Donum has been quietly crafting single-site, single-clone and sometimes single-barrel wines. With a new estate vineyard to their name, Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer at our US arm, Vinfolio – sat down with winemaker Dan Fishman to find out more about the ambitious estate Like most of the New World, California eschews a hierarchy of vineyards. Yet in the absence of Grands Crus and First Growths, some vineyards are just acknowledged as being a notch above the rest. Ask ..read more

After two decades at one of the world’s leading auction houses, Allan Frischman has joined our team, as Vice President of Global Client Reserves. We caught up with him to dive into the world of auctioneering, his 30 years in the business and his new role “The only thing more fun than drinking wine is buying wine,” says Allan Frischman, our new Vice President of Global Client Reserves, arching an eyebrow and laughing. He should know – he’s been working in the wine business since the early 1990s, with the vast majority of that spent sourcing, studying, authenticating and selling fine wine colle ..read more

Behind the winery at Ch. Pontet-Canet, you’ll find a row of stables. In the first of our series taking you behind the scenes in Bordeaux, we dive into how the beautiful draft horses that live here are key to the philosophy at the leading Pauillac estate The grey horse stretches its neck out towards me, curling its lip towards my outreached palm, before nuzzling my pocket, in search perhaps of a potential snack. Its head is the size of my torso, its hooves the size of my head, with the entire beautiful beast weighing circa one ton, I’m told. You can sense the power of its immense muscled mass ..read more

Napa’s producers have already started releasing their 2021s – and more will be hitting the market in the coming months. The vintage is one that allowed producers to breathe – and produced some stunning wines, as Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer at Vinfolio – discovers After the stresses of 2020 – with severe drought, heat and widespread wildfires, the 2021 vintage provided much-needed relief for Napa’s wine producers. Not only was the growing season reassuringly uneventful, but the resulting wines are fantastic. Concentrated, pure with vibrant acidity, this is a vintage that sits alongside 2013, 2 ..read more

Ahead of the annual release from the fabled Maison Leroy, Buying + Partner Director Corentin Margier reports on his pilgrimage to this iconic address in Auxey-Duresses No matter how many times you visit, a trip to Maison Leroy never loses its allure. Driving through the quiet streets of Auxey-Duresses, following the soft, chalky blue signs for Leroy that point the way, is always incongruous with the fame of this address. As we’ve written before, you won’t find the grandeur you’d expect from such an illustrious producer – Lalou Bize-Leroy, and her entire team, embodies a rare charm and down-to ..read more

In 2020 we caught up with Hegarty Chamans’ Winemaker Jessica Servet ahead of the latest release of their top cuvée, Black Knight to find out more about what makes this secluded vineyard in the hills of the Minervois so special Winemaker Jessica Servet has certainly been busy since our last visit to Hegarty Chamans, an enchanting vineyard in the hills of the Minervois. The winery’s success over the last few years and conversion to biodynamics has earned them an enviable reputation – both abroad and locally. Servet has since been elected deputy mayor of the local village and asked to take t ..read more