In 112 pages of Episode 2.1, you'll find: The Kaleidoscope of Meunier: how Champagne’s long-overlooked grape has become a lens for diversity, identity, and expression. In-depth interviews with Champagne star winemakers: Elise Dechannes, Jérôme Lefèvre, Aurore Casanova, and Jérôme Coessens. Champagne gets spiced: Philippe Marquès, head sommelier at Royal Champagne, elaborates on his idea of “pepper pairings.” A few great ideas for when sparkling wines should not try to be Champagne. What changed at La Dive Bouteille this year? Can terroir survive dealcoholization? What a mini-vertical of non-alcoholic sparkling wine reveals about the category’s future. “Robert Parker gave me 61 points”: fantastic outtakes on cool Spanish wines from the Off the Records salon, held in Madrid. An insider’s view on Marsala by Manfredi Franco. Garrigue or Gariga: Dominic Ashby follows in the footsteps of Julia Blackburn in Thin Paths: Journeys In and Around an Italian Mountain Village, tracing the coast from the French Riviera through to Liguria. Young Winemaker’s Diary, Part IV — by Stephanie Wangui, former senior sommelier at Noble Rot Mayfair, who spent almost a year as a trainee viticulturist at the legendary Domaine Roulot. Wine Substacks We Read, Part II: six wine writers bringing us knowledge and inspiration. How have vegetables changed the rules of pairing? We asked sommeliers and wine directors from Plates (London, UK), Oyster Oyster (Washington D.C., USA), and Horváth (Berlin, Germany).
