🇬🇧 This series explores Europe’s three great wine countries. Italy articles are published in French and Italian on the same page. Spain articles in French and Spanish. The French version is the original — this is the English translation.
🇫🇷 Cette série explore les trois grands pays du vin européen. Les articles sur l’Italie sont publiés en français et en italien. Les articles sur l’Espagne, en français et en espagnol.
🇮🇹 Questa serie esplora i tre grandi paesi europei del vino. Gli articoli sull’Italia saranno pubblicati in francese e in italiano sulla stessa pagina. La versione inglese è disponibile in fondo alla pagina.
🇪🇸 Esta serie explora los tres grandes países del vino europeos. Los artículos sobre España se publicarán en francés y en español en la misma página. La versión en inglés está disponible al final de la página.
Three countries. Thousands of appellations. And close to 70% of global wine export value. France, Italy and Spain don’t dominate the wine world by chance — they are three civilisations of the vine, three thousand-year histories that shaped wine culture as we know it today. Over the next eight months, we’ll explore them together, in depth, and in their own languages.
Sixteen articles. Four languages. Three countries. One thread: the conviction that the world’s finest wines are also its most accessible — and that they deserve to be discovered in the language that gave them life.
🇫🇷 France: where the concept of terroir was born
Thirteen major wine regions. Over 350 AOC/AOP appellations. Around 200 grape varieties cultivated. France invented the concept of terroir — the idea that soil, climate and the history of a place translate directly into the glass. From Alsatian Riesling to Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache, from Muscadet sur lie to Champagne, every French bottle tells a story of a precise location. And for every legendary grand cru, ten independent winemakers produce artisanal gems for under €15.
Coming up: an overview of the regions, overlooked terroirs, emblematic grape varieties, winemaker portraits, and our selection of 5 bottles under €15.
🇮🇹 Italy: diversity in its purest form
Five hundred indigenous grape varieties. Twenty fully active wine regions. 77 DOCG, 341 DOC. Italy is the most complex and generous wine country in the world — and probably the one that delivers the most surprises in every bottle. Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Vermentino, Nerello Mascalese: grape varieties that cannot be replicated anywhere else. A Barbera d’Asti at €9 that outclasses many New World wines at €25.
Italy articles will be published in French and Italian on the same page — because Nebbiolo makes more sense when you read «vino di grande struttura tannica» alongside its translation. Coming up: overview, North-to-South journey, inimitable grape varieties, vignaioli portraits, selection under €15.
🇪🇸 Spain: the world’s largest vineyard
Nearly one million hectares of vines. Over 70 denominations of origin. And the best value-for-money in Europe. Spain underwent a spectacular quality revolution from the 1990s onwards: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat, Rías Baixas, Bierzo — world-class terroirs, inimitable grape varieties, prices that remain remarkably reasonable. An artisanal Rioja Crianza between €8 and €12 is still very much a reality.
Spain articles will be published in French and Spanish on the same page — porque el vino se entiende mejor en su idioma. Coming up: overview, new rising stars, grape varieties, family bodegas, selection under €12.
The programme: 16 articles, 4 languages, 8 months
🇫🇷 France — articles in French · English version available
- The French wine panorama: 13 regions, one obsession
- The overlooked regions: where France excels in silence
- Syrah, Grenache, Chenin: the grape varieties that tell France’s story
- Winemaker portraits: French craftsmanship up close
- France in 5 bottles under €15: our selection
🇮🇹 Italy — French + italiano on the same page · English version available
- Italy of the 500 grape varieties: an extraordinary panorama / L’Italia dei 500 vitigni : un panorama unico
- From Barolo to Nero d’Avola: a journey from North to South / Dal Barolo al Nero d’Avola : viaggio da Nord a Sud
- Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Vermentino: inimitable treasures / Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Vermentino : tesori inimitabili
- The vignaioli: when one family does everything / I vignaioli : quando una famiglia fa tutto
- Italy in 5 bottles under €15 / L’Italia in 5 bottiglie sotto i 15 €
🇪🇸 Spain — French + español on the same page · English version available
- The wine landscape of Spain: one million hectares, one revolution / España vinícola : un millón de hectáreas, una revolución
- Beyond Rioja: Spain’s new wine stars / Más allá de La Rioja : las nuevas estrellas del vino español
- Tempranillo, Garnacha, Albariño: the grape varieties to know / Tempranillo, Garnacha, Albariño : los varietales que hay que conocer
- Family bodegas: centuries of tradition, modern ambition / Las bodegas familiares : tradición y modernidad
- Spain in 5 bottles under €12 / España en 5 botellas por menos de 12 €
Wine makes more sense in its native tongue. This series is an invitation to taste differently — with the words of the
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