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Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Latest:
  • Visiting Villa Melnik, one of Bulgaria’s leading wineries, in the Struma Valley
  • Kumeu River, New Zealand’s most celebrated Chardonnay producer – comparing 2024 and 2014 vintages
  • Anthill Farms Winery: Californian elegance
  • The wine aisles at Lidl are depressing if you care about the wine industry
  • Restaurants: a near perfect lunch at Chez Bruce, Wandsworth Common, London
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Highlights

Highlights South Africa 

Highlights: Alheit Vineyards Fire By Night 2018

August 4, 2020October 9, 2020 Treve Ring 6790 Views Chenin Blanc, Old Vine Project, swartland

Chris Alheit is one of South Africa’s top winemakers and old vine rescuers, working closely with the Old Vine Project

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Highlights Italy 

Highlights: Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis 2017 Toscana, Italy

August 2, 2020November 14, 2020 jamiegoode 8135 Views Tuscany

Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis 2017 Toscana, Italy14% alcohol. This is from Gaja’s Tuscan estate in the Maremma, which they bought in

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Highlights Latest Loire 

Highlights: François Saint-Lô Les Fontennelles 2016 Saumur, Loire

July 30, 2020December 3, 2020 jamiegoode 6428 Views Chenin Blanc, Natural wine

I visited François Saint-Lô on my Loire Valley trip with the Grape Witches a couple of years ago. He’s a

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Highlights 

Highlights: Montgomery Rondo 2018 Wales

July 28, 2020August 12, 2020 jamiegoode 5052 Views

In celebration of Welsh wine week, I opened this, from Montgomery in Powys. Rondo is an interesting cool-climate PIWI (the

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Highlights Latest South Africa 

Highlights: Crystallum Whole Bunch Pinot Noir 2018 Overberg, South Africa

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 jamiegoode 6940 Views pinot noir

Crystallum Whole Bunch Pinot Noir 2018 Overberg, South Africa14% alcohol. This is from Hemel-en-Arde, but is labelled Overberg because 20%

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Highlights Latest Portugal 

Highlights: Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port 1998 Douro, Portugal

July 17, 2020 jamiegoode 6092 Views Port

Quinta do Vesuvio is one of the great Quintas of the Douro. It’s located in the Douro Superior (the wamer,

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Highlights South of France Uncategorized 

Highlights: Domaine Jones On the QT Carignan Gris 2019 Vin de France

July 13, 2020 jamiegoode 5513 Views Carignan, Languedoc

A nice one-off made from a rare gris mutation of Carignan by Katie Jones. Domaine Jones On the QT Carignan

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Highlights Spain 

Highlights: Abel Mendoza Virua Rioja Blanco 2018 Spain

July 12, 2020 jamiegoode 3810 Views Rioja

White Rioja can be annoyingly oaky. That’s because in this region, dominated by factory wineries, it’s common to ferment white

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Burgundy Highlights 

Highlights: De Moor Bourgogne Chitry 2018 France

July 12, 2020May 15, 2021 jamiegoode 6861 Views Chardonnay, Natural wine

Neighbouring the Chablis region, Chitry is a very interesting appellation with similar soils and climate, with the potential to make

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Highlights Italy 

Highlights: Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium & Benedic

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 Treve Ring 10265 Views Natural wine

These are not your typical Italian wines. Unless, that is, you usually take of natural wine made by nuns. In

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Features

Visiting Villa Melnik, one of Bulgaria’s leading wineries, in the Struma Valley
Bulgaria Features Latest Regions 

Visiting Villa Melnik, one of Bulgaria’s leading wineries, in the Struma Valley

December 22, 2025December 22, 2025 jamiegoode

Villa Melnik is a family-owned winery in Harsovo, in southwest Bulgaria, in the Struma River Valley of the Thracian Valley.

Kumeu River, New Zealand’s most celebrated Chardonnay producer – comparing 2024 and 2014 vintages
Features Latest New Zealand Regions 

Kumeu River, New Zealand’s most celebrated Chardonnay producer – comparing 2024 and 2014 vintages

December 21, 2025December 21, 2025 jamiegoode
Anthill Farms Winery: Californian elegance
California Features Latest 

Anthill Farms Winery: Californian elegance

December 20, 2025 jamiegoode
The wine aisles at Lidl are depressing if you care about the wine industry
Features Latest 

The wine aisles at Lidl are depressing if you care about the wine industry

December 20, 2025 jamiegoode

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About Us

Wine anorak is one of the leading wine websites. This is the latest version of the site that began life in 1999, and was founded by Jamie Goode, who at the time was working as a science editor.

Since then it has grown, and Jamie is now a full-time wine writer, lecturer, wine judge and book author.

This is an explanation of what an anorak is.

Disclosure: unless otherwise clearly marked, the articles on this site are free of conflicts of interest. Any sponsored content will be clearly marked, and potential conflicts of interest will also be disclosed. As is normal in the wine industry, many of the wines tasted here are free samples and some travel is sponsored by others (for example, regional bodies or groups of producers), but in these cases no guarantees of coverage are given.

As an Amazon Associate this website earns from qualifying purchases (for example, the links for purchasing books). Wineanorak also earns from Google AdSense display advertising.

You can contact Jamie at drjamiegoode@gmail.com Also, through my accounts at Twitter, Instagram and Mastodon

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