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1 week ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Courtney Humiston |Louella Berryman |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
Sukhinder Singh, founder of the The Whisky Exchange and the IWSC’s 2024 Industry Champion, spoke to Lucy Shaw to give Club Oenologique readers the lowdown on his favourite places to enjoy Scotch, bourbon, rye, whisky cocktails and more. Read on to discover some gems recommended by an international whisky expert. Where are your favourite places to drink Scotch?
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1 week ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Courtney Humiston |Louella Berryman |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
In episode 209 of The Drinking Hour podcast, host David Kermode sits down with Sunny Hodge — writer, IWSC judge and hospitality expert — whose debut book, The Cynic’s Guide to Wine, published by Académie du Vin Library, is out now. From beginning his career at Nando’s, to owning both the bars Diogenes The Dog and Aspen & Meursault in London, Hodge has enjoyed a lengthy and rounded hospitality career in which he has often learnt a lot about the trade ‘on the go’.
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1 week ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Louella Berryman |Elaine Brown |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
Nestled at the southern end of Napa Valley between Coombsville to the east and Carneros to the west (and just one hour northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge), Downtown Napa may just be the best place to taste, discover and drink wine in Napa Valley right now.
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3 weeks ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Simon MW |Mandy Naglich |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
The clocks have gone forward and there are the first hints that summer is on its way in the northern hemisphere. Adding to that feeling is this month’s selection of new bars, which is dominated by al fresco drinking venues, with rooftop bars opening in New York, Los Angeles and London. Those drinkers still not ready to embrace the great outdoors can consider cocktails and celeb spotting at an exclusive spot in London and drinks in a snug, speakeasy-style bar at a recently opened hotel in Osaka.
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3 weeks ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Simon MW |Mandy Naglich |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
The Errázuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2025 shortlist has been revealed, offering new perspectives on the people, places and produce in vineyards and wineries around the world. Showcasing the effort that goes into wine production and snapshots from the lives of workers and the wines themselves, this year’s entries span everywhere from the Elqui Valley in Chile to the north-west region of Tenerife.
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3 weeks ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Simon MW |Mandy Naglich |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
In episode 207 of The Drinking Hour podcast, the first of two special episodes exploring the Côtes du Rhône, David Kermode is joined by Frédéric Lavau, a négociant, and Louis Barruol of Château de Saint Cosme to discuss just what makes the region’s wines so highly respected. Kermode’s guests explain the three-tiered appellation system in the Côtes du Rhône and what makes it so accessible.
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4 weeks ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Adam Lechmere |Louella Berryman |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
Dark rum is enjoying a renaissance and its top expressions are now gaining respect as drinks to sip and savour like Scotch or Cognac. At the same time, its growing popularity in cocktails is driving demand in bars – on-trade rum sales surpassed £1bn in 2023, overtaking those of whisky. Mixologists are using characterful dark rums to replace whisky in classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned.
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1 month ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Adam Lechmere |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris |Pip Mortimer
Venturing out to the distilleries of central Kentucky can feel like a scene from a cowboy movie: fields of wheat and hay whip past, and then you pull into a gravel lot next to a pasture filled with glistening thoroughbreds and climb out of the truck. Inside a huge building filled with leather sofas, you are greeted by the occasional roaring fireplace or bronze statue.
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1 month ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Adam Lechmere |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris |Pip Mortimer
In episode 206, David Kermode meets Yann Munier, who joined G.H. Mumm as cellar master in April 2022. A native of Champagne, he talks about his passion for Pinot Noir, the grape that defines Mumm, and reflects on the 2024 vintage. Kermode and Munier start by paying their respects to Munier’s predecessor, Laurent Fresnet, including his work in regenerative viticulture and on G.H. Mumm’s new tasting experience.
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1 month ago | 
cluboenologique.com | Louella Berryman |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris |Pip Mortimer
‘Every Georgian wants to make wine,’ Sandro Kurdadze tells me when I ask what inspired his father to plant grapes. Spend any time in this extraordinary, fertile country and you realise the answer was obvious. Kurdadze, a slightly built classical philosophy graduate with fluent English and comprehensive knowledge of Georgian wine, might be emblematic of the new Georgia. He’s winemaker at Papari Valley in the Kakheti region, where his parents made the first vintage in 2015.
