From the limestone slopes of Burgundy to the high-altitude vineyards of Mendoza — deep dives into the places that shape the world's most extraordinary wines.
Old WorldThe aromatic frontier
Wedged between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine, Alsace produces France's most aromatic white wines — Riesling of crystalline precision, Gewurztraminer of heady perfume, and Pinot Gris of smoky depth. Fifty-one Grand Cru vineyards on soils ranging from granite to volcanic gneiss, and a Route des Vins threading through some of France's most beautiful medieval villages.
Old WorldGamay's joyful, misunderstood heartland
Long dismissed as the home of Nouveau, Beaujolais has undergone a quiet revolution. The granite and schist hillsides of the ten Crus — from the silky Fleurie to the age-worthy Moulin-à-Vent — produce Gamay of a depth and complexity that demands serious attention.
Old WorldThe benchmark by which all reds are judged
For centuries, Bordeaux has set the global standard for fine red wine. Its two banks of the Gironde produce wines of dramatically different character — the structured Cabernets of the Left Bank, the plush Merlots of the Right.
Old WorldChardonnay stripped to its mineral bones
Chablis sits alone at Burgundy's northern extreme, closer to Champagne than to the Côte d'Or, and it shows. The region's ancient Kimmeridgian limestone — studded with fossilised oyster shells — gives its Chardonnays a flinty, saline austerity found nowhere else on earth. No oak, no softness: just pure, electric white wine.
Old WorldThe art of effervescence
Champagne is the world's most famous wine region and arguably its most technically demanding. The méthode champenoise transforms cool-climate grapes into wines of extraordinary complexity and celebration.
Old WorldThe Pope's new castle and the south's greatest red
France's first formally delimited appellation, established in 1923, produces Grenache-led blends of extraordinary power and longevity on the sun-baked galets roulés north of Avignon. From the mythic old-vine Grenache of Château Rayas to the Mourvèdre-dominant blends of Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape defines the ambition of the Southern Rhône.
Old WorldThe Dentelles de Montmirail and the southern Rhône's best-kept secret
In the shadow of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail limestone ridges, Gigondas produces some of the southern Rhône's most compelling Grenache-dominant reds — wines with the power and spice of Châteauneuf-du-Pape but a cooler, more mineral character drawn from the altitude and limestone soils of its dramatic hillside terroir.
Old WorldThe garden of France
The Loire Valley stretches 1,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the heart of France, producing wines of extraordinary diversity — from the mineral Muscadet of the coast to the age-defying Chenin Blancs of Vouvray and Savennières, and the razor-sharp Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.
Old WorldThe world's most celebrated rosé, and so much more
Provence is the world's most famous rosé region — but to reduce it to a single colour is to miss the point. From the structured, age-worthy reds of Bandol, built on Mourvèdre grown on the limestone terraces above the Mediterranean, to the mineral whites of Cassis and the rare reds of Palette, Provence is a region of far greater depth and ambition than its blush reputation suggests.
Old WorldSyrah, Grenache, and the soul of the south
Stretching 200 kilometres from Lyon to Avignon, the Rhône Valley is two wine regions in one. The steep granite terraces of the Northern Rhône produce some of the world's most profound Syrahs; the sun-baked garrigue of the South yields the generous, spice-laden blends of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Old WorldWhere Merlot finds its most eloquent expression
Saint-Émilion is the medieval crown jewel of Bordeaux's Right Bank — a UNESCO World Heritage village perched on a limestone plateau above the Dordogne, producing Merlot-dominant wines of extraordinary richness and complexity from some of the most sought-after terroir in the world.
Old WorldLiquid gold from the mists of the Garonne
In the misty confluence of the Ciron and Garonne rivers, noble rot transforms Sémillon into liquid gold. Sauternes produces the world's most celebrated sweet wine — and Château d'Yquem, its undisputed pinnacle, is the only wine in Bordeaux awarded a classification above Premier Cru.
Old WorldItaly's most age-worthy red, born on a hilltop above the Val d'Orcia
On a hilltop south of Siena, a single grape variety — Sangiovese Grosso, locally called Brunello — produces Italy's most age-worthy red wine. Biondi-Santi invented it in the nineteenth century; a new generation of producers is redefining what it can be.
Old WorldThe Black Rooster's Kingdom
Between Florence and Siena, on galestro limestone and alberese clay soils, Sangiovese has been grown for at least three centuries. The Chianti Classico DOCG — marked by its Gallo Nero symbol — has spent decades reclaiming its identity and now produces some of Italy's most compelling expressions of the variety.
Old WorldThe king and queen of Italian wine
Tucked beneath the Alps in Italy's northwest, Piemonte is home to Barolo and Barbaresco — two of the world's most age-worthy and complex red wines. Nebbiolo's iron grip and haunting perfume have made the Langhe hills a pilgrimage destination for serious wine lovers.
Old WorldThe volcano and the sea
Italy's largest region has transformed itself from a bulk-wine supplier into one of the country's most exciting wine destinations. The volcanic terraces of Mount Etna produce Nerello Mascalese of haunting minerality; the sun-baked southeast yields Nero d'Avola and Sicily's only DOCG; and the ancient fortified traditions of Marsala and Pantelleria endure.
Old WorldItaly's green heart and the kingdom of Sagrantino
Landlocked between Tuscany and Lazio, Umbria is home to Sagrantino — Italy's most tannic grape, grown around the medieval hill town of Montefalco — and the historic white wines of Orvieto. Quieter and less visited than its neighbours, it rewards those who make the detour.
Old WorldFrom Amarone's brooding depths to Prosecco's sparkling heights
Italy's most prolific wine region spans everything from the brooding, appassimento-dried Corvina of Amarone to the crisp Garganega of Soave and the effervescent Glera of Prosecco. The Veneto's diversity is its defining characteristic — and its greatest strength.
Old WorldLlicorella slate and the wines that taste of the earth
Carved into the steep llicorella slate terraces of Catalonia's interior, Priorat produces some of Spain's most powerful and mineral wines. Álvaro Palacios and a generation of pioneers transformed this forgotten region into one of the world's most sought-after appellations.
Old WorldTempranillo on the high plateau of Castile
On a windswept plateau 900 metres above sea level, Ribera del Duero produces Spain's most powerful and age-worthy Tempranillo — from Vega Sicilia's legendary Único to the single-vineyard revolution of Pingus and Dominio de Atauta.
Old WorldSpain's most storied wine country
Rioja's Tempranillo-based wines are among the world's most age-worthy reds. The region's three sub-zones — Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental — each bring distinct character to the glass.
Old WorldThe French Corner — Cap Classique, Semillon, and the Cape's finest table
Settled by French Huguenot refugees in 1688, Franschhoek — the French Corner — occupies a single dramatic valley ringed by the Franschhoek Mountains. Its cool valley floor and well-drained granite soils produce some of South Africa's finest Semillon and Cap Classique sparkling wines, while the village itself has become the culinary capital of the Cape Winelands, with a concentration of world-class restaurants that rivals any wine town on earth.
Old WorldHeaven and Earth — South Africa's cool-climate frontier
Three narrow valleys carved into the coastal mountains two hours southeast of Cape Town, where the cold Benguela Current shapes South Africa's most compelling Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Hamilton Russell, Storm Wines, and Newton Johnson have made the Hemel-en-Aarde one of the southern hemisphere's most exciting wine destinations.
Old WorldWhere the Atlantic meets ancient soils
South Africa's Cape Winelands sit at the convergence of two oceans and some of the world's oldest geological formations. The result is a wine country of extraordinary diversity — from the cool-climate Chenin Blancs of Swartland to the structured Cabernets of Stellenbosch.
Old WorldThe Cape's heartland of Cabernet and Chenin
South Africa's most celebrated wine district sits in the folds of the Hottentots Holland mountains, an hour east of Cape Town. Stellenbosch's diverse soils — granite on the upper slopes, decomposed shale and alluvial clay on the valley floors — produce Cabernet Sauvignon of genuine distinction alongside some of the Cape's finest Chenin Blanc.
Old WorldOld vines, ancient granite, and the revolution that changed everything
A forgotten wheat-farming district north of Cape Town that became the epicentre of South Africa's most radical wine revolution. Eben Sadie, Mullineux, and a generation of producers transformed its ancient granite soils and dry-farmed old bush vines into some of the southern hemisphere's most compelling wines.
