Decanter
UNLIKELY COMPANIONS
Spain has so many much-loved culinary traditions that it can be easy to fall into the trap of pigeonholing Spanish food and wine pairings. But, as they say, one must learn the rules like a lawyer in order to break them like an artist...
5 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Red international varieties in Spain
Some good options here for lovers of a full-on red with varietal flavour to the fore, though genuine Spanish character was generally lacking, our judges concluded
6 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Meet the sommelier Ava Mees List
New York born and Amsterdam bred, Ava Mees List goes by her middle name, pronounced 'Mase. She has worked as a sommelier at Noma in Copenhagen since 2019, becoming the restaurant's beverage director in 2022. Starting her career as a part-time bartender at an Art Deco literary café in Amsterdam after finishing her studies in cultural anthropology, she soon decided to dedicate her professional life to learning about and travelling for wine. From 2015 to 2018, Mees worked at sister restaurants Saturne and Clown Bar in Paris before moving to Copenhagen.
4 min |
November 2025
Decanter
'Spain deserves more dynamism, more ambition, more recognition'
Rioja, 1991. Priorat, 2001. These are the moments the two wine regions rose from the status of DO (denominación de origen) to DOCa (denominació d'origen qualificada, or DOQ: denominació d’origen qualificada in Catalan). It’s etched on the memory of every Spanish sommelier. They were hailed as milestones, proof that Spain's wine hierarchy could evolve. But more than 20 years later, one can’t help asking: has it, really?
2 min |
November 2025
Decanter
LIGHTING UP LEVANTE
Lovers of Spanish wine have mostly looked north for the past few decades. But the country's southeast is home to a variety of DOs beginning to tilt the country's geographical scale. Make space for the new Levante
7 min |
November 2025
Decanter
European wine culture under threat
Wine's place in the intensifying debate around alcohol and health policy has returned to the spotlight in recent weeks amid a high-level meeting at the United Nations (UN).
1 min |
November 2025
Decanter
IN PURSUIT OF BALANCE
As Spain grapples with the impact of overtourism in some of its most popular destinations, the country's wine producers are pursuing 'enoturismo' as a positive way of educating consumers and creating new opportunities in less-visited areas
5 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Welcome to our 2025 Spain guide
It's been an eyeopening, fascinating year, for reasons both good and bad, a turbulent period, not least across southern Europe's vineyards, where, after years plagued by drought, wildfires caused heartbreaking destruction.
1 min |
November 2025
Decanter
The idea of terroir is sacred, but is it helping us to communicate what truly matters?
The word terroir is everywhere: on tasting sheets and in marketing copy and articles. Far from being a unique property of certain distinguished vineyards, it seems as though everyone is focused on expressing their terroir, sometimes to the tune of millions of bottles a year.
3 min |
November 2025
Decanter
The Landing
In the picturesque but windswept coastal far north of New Zealand, this small winery is breathing new life into the region where the nation's first vines were planted
3 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Creative pairings for... Thanksgiving dinner
A crazy collection of carb- heavy, often sweet side dishes arrayed around a savoury turkey centrepiece that many don't even like - Thanksgiving dinner presents a particularly thorny wine pairing conundrum. And the solutions may not be what you expect
4 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Bonarda
No longer just the standard lunchtime sip for Argentines, Bonarda and its succulently fruity charms are climbing the quality ladder
8 min |
November 2025
Decanter
I feel solidarity with the courageous growers who stake so much on challenging the English weather'
It's surprising, in a sense, that the category of English wine that's the first to establish itself as seriously good is the most expensive: the bubbly. Our still whites haven't yet quite produced show models to follow; and reds, often struggling to reach full ripeness, are so far generally considered a bit thin. The best Essex Pinot Noir, notably from the Danbury ridge, which looks south over the valley of the Crouch river, has everything you can hope for - and costs as much as good red Burgundy. You don't save money by staying close to home.
1 min |
November 2025
Decanter
A drink with... Minyoung Ryu
Born in South Korea, sommelier Minyoung Ryu worked in fine dining establishments around the world before coming on board at Bali’s Potato Head luxury resort in 2023, where she helped to set up a natural wine bar and restaurant, Dome - a world away from the more traditional establishments in which she spent her early career
2 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Beaujolais A wine lover's guide
Now with a wealth of stylish hotel and restaurant offerings to match the glorious Gamays of its celebrated crus, this region to the south of Burgundy is the perfect, off-radar wine destination
8 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Northern Rhône 2015
Our judges arrived with high expectations of this line-up of Syrahs from an excellent vintage. They found a superb selection of wines, many of which are already drinking well
10+ min |
November 2025
Decanter
A THIRST FOR ANSWERS
How are Spanish producers preparing for a future with less water? And how might their actions reshape the identity of some of the country's flagship regions and vineyards?
5 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Málaga The rediscovery
The golden era of Málaga wines was lost to history, but intrepid winemakers are exploring the region's mountainous extremes anew
8 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Fortemasso The contemporary soul of Barolo
This young winery is redefining the standards of the famous Piedmontese red wine, thanks to a new production philosophy and a perfect vineyard
2 min |
November 2025
Decanter
FIVE OF THE BEST Vodkas to give as a gift
① 06 Vodka Rosé £34.99-£42/70cl Amazon, Hic, Master of Malt, The Bottle Club, The Whisky Exchange A perfect choice for wine lovers, this French winter wheat vodka from the Comte de Grasse distillery captures the essence of Provençal rosé.
2 min |
November 2025
Decanter
NO D.O.
If you see 'Vino de España' on a Spanish wine label, nowadays it may well mean it's been made by a producer who likes to think outside the box on quality and creativity. Meet some of the Spanish winemakers determined to carve their own path, beyond the conformities demanded in the well-known regions...
10+ min |
November 2025
Decanter
All about ORANGE
What exactly are orange wines? How are they made? Are they the same as natural wines? Here's all you need to know to start discovering this increasingly popular style
10 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Authenticity, AI & blockchain
Fraud is a longstanding problem in the fine wine market. Could AI and blockchain technology provide the answer?
6 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Goings-on in Spain...
News and events that deserve your attention in the world of Spanish wine
3 min |
November 2025
Decanter
GO-TO SPAIN
Who better than staff members from across the various Decanter departments to share their drinking inspiration? Eleven from the team, including Spain Regional Editor Ines Salpico, have picked Spanish wines that they enjoy and recommend heartily for your enjoyment any time of the week – priced at up to £25 a bottle
6 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Rising prices affecting wine drinking habits
A survey of fine wine lovers by private members' club 67 Pall Mall has highlighted concerns about climate change and rising prices, as well as broadening tastes.
1 min |
November 2025
Decanter
The Coravin Guide
Since Coravin burst onto the scene in 2013 with its first wine-by-the-glass system - using pioneering technology to keep the wine in opened bottles fresh for months - restaurants and wine bars around the world have snapped up the preservation devices, using them to expand their by-the-glass offerings, and to pour treasures from their cellars that wine lovers would previously have had to order by the bottle. Today, Coravin estimates that every second, its devices are being used to pour a glass of wine somewhere in the world.
1 min |
November 2025
Decanter
Château Lafleur to leave Pomerol appellation
Top Bordeaux producer Château Lafleur has made the seismic decision to leave the Pomerol appellation, in order to give it more freedom to attempt to tackle climate change in its vineyards.
1 min |
October 2025
Decanter
UK vineyard trials feathered defenders
England's Rathfinny Wine Estate has deployed birds of prey via a specialist falconry team to trial a new way of protecting grapes before harvest.
1 min |
October 2025
Decanter
DREAM DESTINATION
Cape of Senses Lake Garda, Italy
1 min |