My Review of the Year 2023 marks a new phase in my life. I can’t really say career, because as far as wine goes, it isn’t a conventional one (and I think, to many working in wine in my new country, they don’t recall me having one). Writing doesn’t sustain me financially, but I feel that the total independence I have does accrue the trust of my readers. When I say “new phase” I mean that having moved to Scotland in 2022, this marks my first full year here, as an immigrant if not quite an exile.

What has changed most is that whilst previously I would have attended several dozen trade tastings a year in London, and a similar number of lunches and dinners organised on specific wine themes, those are thin on the ground up here. Even when they take place, I’m pretty much an unknown to the locals so invitations don’t come freely, as they once did. At least when London comes to Edinburgh, I’m still getting a nice email and an invitation. The contrast is mildly annoying. I’m just a bit sad that Les Caves de Pyrene decided to venture up here when I was in Australia (very bad timing).

Australia (March-April) was most fruitful, not for the usual winery visits, but for discovering the wonderful P&V Wine Merchant in Sydney. I have Jamie at Cork & Cask in Edinburgh to thank for the recommendation. Not only did I discover a whole load of natural wines I’d never seen before, but on walking into their Newtown store (a fifteen-minute walk from where we were staying in Sydney at our son’s place) I saw that co-owner, the legendary Mike Bennie, was putting on a Jura Masterclass and they had one ticket left. See my articles of 29 May (Wines in Australia) and 7 June (Jura Masterclass).

Cork & Cask, which has a shop in Marchmont in the south of Edinburgh, holds a Winter Wine Fair every November. Although we’ve had some of the smaller London importers come up and give excellent tastings (Modal, Basket Press to name two), the Cork & Cask event brings a dozen or so of their suppliers to our capital, and it’s a good chance for me to touch base with people like Wines Under the Bonnet, Dynamic, Vine Trail, Roland, Indigo and more. It’s the second year I have been and even though they make me pay it has generated three articles worth of fabulous wines on both occasions.

Books and Articles from 2023

In 2023 I published 47 articles which by 31 December will have generated somewhere over 40,000 views. That’s a nice increase on last year, and on 2020. It doesn’t hit the high of 2021 (over 52,000 hits), but then I’m guessing people had more time during Covid. I always like to list the most popular articles read in the current year, and the dates of publication (apologies to American readers for confusing you with our quaint British system here) which give an idea of the enduring popularity of some articles.

That Jamie Goode’s latest book appears on this list despite only reviewing it in October shows how popular The New Viticulture has been for my readership (as one would expect). That this should be my Wine Book of the Year may therefore come as no surprise. Jamie’s previous book, Regenerative Viticulture, also featured in the top reader’s hits for ‘23. I hope the popularity of The New Viticulture here is reflected in sales, as it is pretty much essential reading for anyone deeply into wine, not just those who make it.

I would also like to highly commend New British Wine by Abbie Moulton and Vines in a Cold Climate by Henry Jeffreys. Both cover the wines and wine personalities of the UK. They are very different, both from each other and from Dr Goode’s book, which is certainly technical, yet is written in a way that makes the science relatively easy to understand for anyone wishing to significantly increase their knowledge. It’s like a text book that is a pleasure to read.

All three are very enjoyable and engrossing. That there is room for so much literature on the wines of Great Britain (remember Ed Dallimore’s book last year and hopefully one from Ruth Spivey in 2024) says a great deal about everything that’s happening here (or should I say down there). The most exciting developments are not always happening in the most obvious places too. My reviews of all three books are easy to search for on my site.

The list of fifteen articles below, those which had the most reads in 2023, includes some perennial favourites. The Jura article which heads the list is perhaps slightly dated, in that what was our favourite restaurant closed after Covid, but pretty much everything else still holds true. I only wonder whether all who read it actually visit the Jura region and shop the shops…and especially walk the walks? I’d love to know.

This, and the article on Nepal and Tibet’s strange alcoholic beverage, Tongba, seemed to get close to twice the number of hits as everything else. The Tongba article gets a lot of traffic from Nepalese and European travel sites. Finally, I shall mention Breaky Bottom. This English producer has been quiet on social media since Covid, but they recently perked up thanks to one of their younger workers (thank you, Louisa). A recent link to my article about this complete treasure of English wine, set in the most beautiful location I know for an English vineyard, which followed a visit in 2022, seems to have generated an incredible surge in end of year traffic.

The most popular articles on wideworldofwine.co in 2023 were (no long pause)

1. Tourist Jura – A Brief Guide to Arbois and Beyond (First Published 07/20)
2. Tongba – A Study in Emptiness (01/16)
3. Pergola Taught (on pergolas, of course) (02/21)
4. Extreme Viticulture in Nepal (about Pataleban Estate) (11/19)
5. Paradise Lost (a eulogy for the late Pascal Clairet and Dominique Belluard) (06/21)
6. Vin Jaune (06/23 – the top article of all those posted in 2023)
7. Regenerative Viticulture by Jamie Goode (Book Review) (06/22)
8. The New Viticulture by Jamie Goode (Book Review) (10/23)
9. New British Wine by Abbie Moulton (Book Review) (03/23)
10. Like a Child in a Sweet Shop (Visit to Made from Grapes in Glasgow) (03/23)
11. Gut Oggau Visit in August 2022 (09/22)
12. The Hearach (much awaited first whisky from Isle of Harris Distillery) (10/23)
13. Breaky Bottom (winery visit) (03/22)
14. One Wine Leads to Another (Alsace collaborative negoce Du Vin Aux Liens) (02/23)
15. Mike Bennie Jura Masterclass (at P+V in Sydney) (06/23)

Resolutions for 2024

I have never really been one for New Year’s Resolutions generally, which might be one reason my fitness levels slowly deteriorate, and why I don’t have to take the month of January off for lack of wines to write about. If January won’t be “dry”, nor will it be any more vegan(uary) than any other month. I live with a vegan so I am used to a mainly plant-based diet, whilst getting my cheese fix, and occasional other sins (especially my habit of not reading the ingredients on chocolate wrappers) in other ways.

But when it comes to wine, I have recently made a habit of setting out some things I hope to achieve in the following year. There are a few I’d like to share.

The first two relate to my drinking. Ever since I made Foot Trodden by Simon Woolf and Ryan Opaz my book of the year in 2021, I’ve been promising to drink more Portuguese wine. I have no idea why I have failed miserably. Butlers Wine Cellar in Brighton (who will deliver here), and Modal Wines (who even make the effort to come up here) both have some exceptional Portuguese wines. There’s no excuse, and I must try harder.

Equally, I am shocked at how Euro-centric my drinking seemed to become this year. That was placed into sharp contrast during the weeks I spent in Australia in spring ’23. There, I drank wines I have never come across here. I tend to think that good or affordable Aussie natural wines are not as easy to get hold of as they once were, although there are exceptions among importers (Les Caves do their level best). But when my drinking does hit Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and, of course, South Africa (where I should have few excuses), I am always made very much aware that I ought to be making more of an effort here.

My other promise to myself for 2024 is to try to support the growing natural wine scene in this part of Scotland. I can’t afford to buy wine as I once did, but I can write about the scene. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have their own small importers and they are doing a good job to find new talent out there. But I’d especially like to see both Newcomer and Tutto Wines have a presence in this market, and Swig too, come to think of it. It’s for purely selfish reasons. When it’s hard to get deliveries, I just want to see more of my favourite wines in my local (-ish) retailers. There’s a limit as to how many bottles I can lug up from London every two-to-three-months.

Whilst I’m here, not so much a resolution, but I also need to do more to enlighten some importer or other as to the fact that Michael Dhillon (Bindi, see below) makes wine at one of the very finest estates in the whole of Australia. Definitely top-5, at the very least! I saw a well-known London-based wine person extolling Bindi about a month ago, so I’m not alone.

Finally, a couple of odd lists. The first is a list of people who have been an inspiration to me through my “career” and have in many ways kept my writing going, often as a muse for an article, or for their knowledge (and ability to share it), and in some cases for sharing and validating my own enthusiasms. I wanted to write about all of these people but before I left England I only got around to an article about Christina Rasmussen. So here is a list instead.

1. Doug Wregg – Les Caves de Pyrene sold me my first natural wines bought in the UK and Doug has been the shining light, bar none, for teaching me to look at and love wine in a different way. He has no idea…
2. Jamie Goode – Dr Goode is probably the greatest wine communicator working today in terms of teaching an understanding of wine science as well as what matters in winemaking. wineanorak.com
3. Christina Rasmussen – Wine educator and impassioned advocate for (and practitioner of) sustainable viticulture. littlewine.io
4. Wink Lorch – Author. For years (from the 1980s) it was just myself and Wink in Arbois, you know. Now look at the place.
5. Ania Smelskaya – Sommelier, educator, photographer. I challenge you to find any more enthusiastic human being when it comes to natural wine. It rubs off.
6. Alan March – Alan and I have been on a parallel journey. Different places but same destination. I value his opinions more than most. Blogger: amarchinthevines.org , sometimes at Coutelou in the Languedoc.
7. Tim Phillips – England’s thinking winemaker. I marvel at his combination of intellect and its application to making astonishing wines where by rights it shouldn’t happen. Charlie Herring Wines.
8. Valerie Kathawala – I’ve never met Valerie in person, though we used to talk on Zoom a bit. She has planted the seed for quite a few of my articles both during and after Covid. She is co-founder of Trink Magazine, the most valuable resource on wines from German-speaking countries and regions, wines which I think you know I like a lot. I only regret that she once published one of the dullest articles I have written.
9. David Neilson – The man behind backinalsace.com . He’s to Alsace what Wink Lorch is to Jura and Savoie, and he truly knows Alsace natural wine inside-out. As Alsace is the happening place for natural wine right now, David is your man.
10. Jiří Majerik – Jiří, along with his wife, Zainab, runs Basket Press Wines. Jiří is Czech. He’s helped me to see how exciting the Czech natural wine scene is. If, one day, people remember I was perhaps the first to preach about these wines, I won’t become rich on it, but I may have cause to thank him even more. Surely, it’s time to discover the likes of Koráb, Osička, Dva Duby, Richard Stávek and others (along with producers in their portfolio such as Magula from Slovakia, Annamária Réka-Koncz from Hungary and “Max Sein Wein” from Germany).

The second list is a simple one. They are all winemakers. David Neilson (see above) is always telling me I shouldn’t have favourites. I’m sure he’s completely right in a professional context, but I’m not your average wine writer in that specific sense. It’s just something I want to do and now seems an appropriate time. They are in no particular order:

1. Domaine Rietsch (Jean-Pierre Rietsch), Mittelbergheim (Alsace)
2. Renner und Sistas (Stefanie, Susanne & Georg Renner), Gols (Burgenland)
3. Gut Oggau (Stephanie & Eduard Tscheppe-Eselböck), Oggau (Burgenland)
4. Julie Balagny RIP (Beaujolais)
5. Domaine L’Octavin (Alice Bouvot), Arbois (Jura)
6. Bindi (Michael Dhillon), Macedon Ranges (Victoria)
7. Breaky Bottom (Peter Hall), Rodmell (Sussex)
8. Domaine de la Tournelle (Evelyne and the late Pascal Clairet), Arbois (Jura)
9. Bérêche & Fils (Raphaël Bérêche), Craon de Ludes (Champagne)
10. Charlie Herring Wines (Tim Phillips), Lymington (Hampshire)

I have to leave it at ten. I could easily double the list with producers from Jura and Alsace, Champagne, Czechia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and more, producers whose wines I love and drink when I can. Yet this list is somehow more than one containing favourite producers. The wines made by these ladies and gentlemen have touched me profoundly. They have reached into my soul and pulled on something in there. Some of their wines have brought me close to tears. And the great thing is that they are all wonderful people (although, sadly, I never met Julie Balagny, the only one). I feel more than lucky to have lived at a time when these people are/were making wine.

I hope that 2024 brings you peace, happiness and prosperity, and that your drinking is enlightening and thrilling. Perhaps you may find a little inspiration here, and in my Wines of the Year (previous article). I hope we can continue to enjoy wine, tastings, meals, books and travel together throughout next year and beyond.