WineObsessed

18/06/2026

Grape Escapes: recent Wine Obsessed visits to Wiston Estate, Sussex, and Vagabond's new very hip urban winery in London's Canada Water. Plus a few days back in the vineyard wire-lifting and tucking-in at South Lodge Hotel, Sussex.

27/05/2026

Check out ’s video.

27/02/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR-Vpk3ilM1/?igsh=MWZocnhvYjFkdjRtcg==

27/02/2026

Warnings and rumours concerning Californian winery closures and scale-backs are now very sadly coming true. Even the deep-pocketed, very large players (e.g. Gallo) and the finer end of the market (e.g. Jackson Family) are having to scale back. It is said more and more will follow, many of them boutique and family-run. We - myself included - might think of California being mostly about big faceless brands with silly names, but it's actually more about the small and the medium-sized once you delve deeper.

It is difficult to pin-point the biggest reason for this. There are various headwinds - an increasingly steep decline in consumption of super-ripe, high alcohol reds seemingly worldwide being one; wine consumption lacking amongst the younger generation being another, with ever-increasing competition from other drinks categories amid a fast-growing trend for low-alcohol drinks.

Indeed, the aforementioned California-based Jackson Family, a fine wine producer in several traditional wine regions around the world, have invested in areas where they can produce lighter, fresher styles of wine albeit quality-focused and in small quantities, with their holdings now including 67 acres of vineyard in the Crouch Valley (Essex) with a further 210 acres planned for planting. Rumour has it that they may also be planning an operation in Sweden's south where there are a still small but growing number of vineyards, mostly planted to a particularly hardy mildew-resistant variety called Solaris.

HOWEVER. If speculation that 2025 saw as much as a sudden $4billion decline in US wine exports is accurate - certainly a very sudden and significant decline in exports to Canada has been well documented - then I think we can hazard a guess what the major overriding headwind is for US winemakers, while the other factors mentioned above might just be (albeit not insignificant) breezes....

After nearly two years of predictions that we’d soon be seeing a wave of winery closures, we’re no longer waiting for the wave — it’s crashing into us. Here’s what’s happening.

26/02/2026

25/02/2026

Getting all Wine Obsessed with fellow wine obsessed folk at The Royal Horticultural Halls, London, yesterday.

Some great Greek wines which get better and better with every passing year and from a smorgasbord of indigenous rather than international varieties, which makes it all the more interesting.

It might sound strange to say that winemaking in Greece has come on in leaps and bounds, but there has been a renewed focus on organics, quality, and lower yields, really gathering pace over the last decade or so, thanks to a newish generation of winemakers, several of whom I had the privilege to chat to. And the word is now getting out.

I had already encountered these Greek producers though, or at least had tasted equivalents. The discovery of the day was a fascinating, high-quality red from the northeastern side of Tenerife, from organically managed vineyards planted on volcanic rock on cliffs above the Atlantic, up to an altitude of 500 metres. This is 'heroic viticulture', the slopes are crazily steep, it's a labour of love, and the resulting wines are made in tiny quantities. The vines are very old, from 50 to 150 years old. A fine wine: incredibly fresh and juicy, long and with lovely 'flow', food-friendly and utterly drinkable at only 12% alcohol. A revelation and definitely an upcoming Obsessed Pick! I wouldn't necessarily have thought that Wine Obsessed needs a trip to Tenerife....

05/02/2026

Von Buhl Spatburgunder 2023

15/01/2026

Drink better in 2026 - £10 discount for new subscribers

12/12/2025

https://wineobsessed.co.uk/ last orders by midday 23.12.2025. Drink better this Christmas 🥂