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Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Latest:
  • Visiting Aya Estate for the opening of their winery: Bulgarian wine playing at a new level
  • Bonhams is auctioning off the cellar of Locanda Locatelli, and a few of us get to try some of the gems over lunch
  • A quick guide to New Zealand wine
  • Tablas Creek and Château Beaucastel: a Wine Society tasting telling the story of how a leading Rhône domaine fell in love with California
  • Highlights: Sadie Family Wines Twiswind 2024 & Sonvang 2024
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California

California Features Latest Profiles 

The wines of Château Montelena, Napa, California

November 3, 2021November 7, 2021 jamiegoode 5361 Views Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Napa

Website: https://montelena.com/ Historic Napa winery Chateau Montelena dates back to 1882. This is when Alfred L. Tubbs planted the vineyard

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California Profiles Regions 

The wines of Big Basin Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains, California

October 22, 2021November 7, 2021 jamiegoode 5582 Views

Website: https://www.bigbasinvineyards.com/ Bradley Brown founded Big Basin Vineyards after a career in Silicon Valley. He’s based in the Santa Cruz

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California Profiles Regions 

The wines of Calder: focusing on California’s heritage varieties

October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 jamiegoode 4448 Views

Website: https://calder.securecheckout.com/ Calder is the label of Rory Williams, son of John Williams of Frog’s Leap. Rory’s day job is

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California Highlights 

Highlights: Jolie-Laide Pinot Gris 2018 Sonoma County, California

July 24, 2021October 1, 2021 jamiegoode 4858 Views

Jolie-Laide is a micronegociant operation from Scott and Jenny Schultz, and it’s a small 3000 case affair. Scott worked with

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California Highlights 

Highlights: Charbono both ways from Shypoke Winery in Calistoga, Napa

June 19, 2021 jamiegoode 6581 Views

There are just 75 acres of Charbono left on the planet, say Shypoke Winery. This isn’t strictly true, if you

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Argentina California Chile Features 

País, Mission, Criolla Chica: the Beaujolais of the Americas?

June 18, 2021August 1, 2021 Lisse Garnett 11329 Views Mission, Pais

Much like the Gamay of Beaujolais, twenty years ago País was seen as fit for only commonplace, lowly table wine.

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Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon
California Highlights 

Highlights: Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Napa Valley

April 29, 2021June 8, 2021 jamiegoode 5101 Views Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa

This is brilliant. Napa is often knocked for its excess: Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from grapes picked too late, spoofed

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California Highlights 

Highlights: I Brand & Family Cabernet Franc Bayly Ranch 2017 Paicenes, California

March 28, 2021June 8, 2021 jamiegoode 5234 Views cabernet franc

Website: https://www.ibrandwinery.com/ I don’t know much about winemaker Ian Brand’s project in California, but I saw this wine, bought it,

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California Highlights 

Highlights: The Ojai Vineyard Syrah 2017 Santa Barbara County, California

January 6, 2021January 18, 2021 jamiegoode 5038 Views syrah

Syrah from a cool-ish climate in California. It’s a variety you’d think would be thriving in California, but it hasn’t

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California 

Three from Merry Edwards

October 24, 2020November 14, 2020 jamiegoode 4687 Views

Merry Edwards began her winemaking career in the 1970s at Mount Eden Estate, and has also worked at Matanzas Creek.

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Features

Visiting Aya Estate for the opening of their winery: Bulgarian wine playing at a new level
Bulgaria Features Latest Regions 

Visiting Aya Estate for the opening of their winery: Bulgarian wine playing at a new level

October 7, 2025October 7, 2025 jamiegoode

Website: https://ayaestatevineyards.com/en/ I’m just on my way back from the Struma Valley in southern Bulgaria, where I was attending the

Bonhams is auctioning off the cellar of Locanda Locatelli, and a few of us get to try some of the gems over lunch
Features Italy Latest 

Bonhams is auctioning off the cellar of Locanda Locatelli, and a few of us get to try some of the gems over lunch

October 6, 2025October 6, 2025 jamiegoode
A quick guide to New Zealand wine
Features Latest New to wine New Zealand Regions 

A quick guide to New Zealand wine

October 5, 2025October 6, 2025 jamiegoode
Tablas Creek and Château Beaucastel: a Wine Society tasting telling the story of how a leading Rhône domaine fell in love with California
California Features Latest Rhone 

Tablas Creek and Château Beaucastel: a Wine Society tasting telling the story of how a leading Rhône domaine fell in love with California

October 2, 2025October 2, 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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