Chapoutier is a long-established Rhone Valley wine producer with roots going back to 1808, where it was first established as 'Calvet et Compagnie'. In 1883 it was bought by Rodolphe Delepine, and Marius Chapoutier joined the venture in 1897, where it became known as 'Delepine et Chapoutier'. Delepine retired in 1922 and Chapoutier took the reigns, creating a new winery at the foot of the famous Hermitage hill. Since then it has remained in family hands, with Michel Chapoutier at the helm who has…

As we are all aware, sustainability is one issue that will simply not go away. The first things that come to mind when you think sustainable range from reusing pots, recycling plastic and cutting down on car journeys, but the wine world actually plays quite a role itself. Not just in leading the way in logistics and distribution sustainability, but also farming techniques helping reduce harmful chemicals, wastewater and even using drones. Check out my article on sustainability in Bordeaux for…

When you hear about Australian wines there are a few names that should come to mind: Penfolds, Yellow Tail, Wolf Blass, Peter Lehmann and Jim Barry. Jim Barry helped shape the world-famous Clare Valley as a Riesling powerhouse and one of Australia’s greatest wine regions. He was in fact the first qualified winemaker to work in the entire region, taking a job as winemaker and chemist at Clarevale Cooperative soon after graduating in 1946. It wasn’t until 1959 that Jim and his wife bought their…