"Left to its own devices, nature will create something more beautiful and unique than a packet of yeast ever could. You just need a little faith" More magic from @simonjwoolf.com

I spent a weekend at Gut Oggau, one of Austria's most iconic biodynamic wineries. They have many fans worldwide, but also detractors who think their slick marketing means they're too good to be true. Here's what I discovered. themorningclaret.com/p/the-real-d...

A slightly snarky guide to Amsterdam's natural wine scene, with my off-piste favourites and a survival guide if you really want to do battle with the hipsters. Second half of the piece is for paying subscribers. It'll only cost you €5 to become one of them! themorningclaret.com/p/amsterdam-...

Not sure about AI? Here's how to stop search engines from showing you AI answers in preference to actual web sites. Google: use www.udm14.com (performs google search with the option &udm=14) Better yet, change your default search engine to DuckDuckGo and don't forget to tweak this setting:

So much this. 100 times this. Fuck ChatGPT, all AI actually. www.katiematherwrites.com/the-gulp/abs...

With all the press about Substack pivoting to a model that prioritises advertising integration, I'm starting to face up to a possible migration soon. Perhaps you got out at the right time @katiematherkm.bsky.social

25 young winemakers on the Italian/Slovenian border have launched a wonderful initiative, Senza Meja (without borders) to represent their work. Better still, they've opened an enoteca in Gorizia where you can buy and drink all of their wines. Dream boutique! themorningclaret.com/p/wine-witho...

I rarely write about myself, but this week was the right moment to pull back the curtain and talk about journalism, what it means, and how it can blow up in your face sometimes. themorningclaret.com/p/a-week-in-...

I wrote this short piece after reading @emmabentleyvino.bsky.social 's report on a landmark industrial pollution case in Italy. themorningclaret.com/p/why-organi...

I finally made a starter pack.... if you want to find some more wine people to follow on here, maybe it will help. go.bsky.app/U3ZkLQr

A little story about tracking down one of Slovenia's most eccentric winemakers. themorningclaret.com/p/meeting-ma...

If you work in education please share this and consider signing it. openletter.earth/an-open-lett...

This feels like a ✨prime✨ week to close the book on Amazon.

Sad to read about the protests in Douro (reported by @teamdb.bsky.social in link below). I wrote about these issues (selling grapes below cost of production etc) in Foot Trodden (with @ryanopaz.bsky.social) in 2021. The problem has only intensified. www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/07/wine...

Gulp Hablo is a budget priced Spanish orange wine that's been selling like hot cakes and ruffling a few feathers in the natural wine world. I took a look at what it's all about. themorningclaret.com/p/gulp-hablo...

I was doing background research for this week's newsletter, and discovered a wine review website (purportedly) that I'm pretty sure is 100% AI created mpwwine.com A lot of it is beyond random. Sample article: "Does wine contain caffeine?" Who is stuff like this for? What's the point of it?

What is it about French Wine? Why and how one European nation has dominated the wine world for centuries. Is it time for a change? themorningclaret.com/p/what-is-it...

This is a bizarre take: how is naturalness judged? By process or by flavour? If a big company makes natural wine, you can’t audit this by flavour

Are these the world's cheapest natural wines? I review three new releases from Romanian giant @cramelerecaseu.bsky.social (finally a winery that's actually on here!) Together with thoughts about how natural (or not) they are. themorningclaret.com/p/cramele-re...

Really impressed with Lonely Planet - wanted the latest edition of their Greek islands guide & my local bookshop didn't have it. Ordered direct from their site, arrived the next day w free shipping. Seems they have a distribution centre in NL. I've boycotted Amazon for years so this was a big win.

I always wanted to go to Santorini, and was considering a Greek island adventure this autumn. But after reading this (and other similar articles about over-tourism on the island), I just don't think I can go. www.decanter.com/wine/andrew-...

The satisfaction of knowing a substack article is finished, edited and sat ready for its scheduled publication date, almost 24 hours in advance. I am beyond smug now.

Want to know which are the best orange wines from Goriska Brda, Slovenia? I just published a guide to 52 of them! We blind tasted and reviewed every wine. Here is our top ten plus our tasters' individual favourites: themorningclaret.com/p/brda-orang...

A behind the scenes on how I put my wine guides together (on the eve of the next guide). And what makes them unique. Free to read. themorningclaret.com/p/backstage-...

A lot of people have a romantic idea about family businesses in wine. Alex Zahel is not one of those people. He and his wife Hilary gave me a full and frank interview about his painful exit from his family winery, and their new negoce project. themorningclaret.com/p/austrian-f... #biodynamic

On the eve of one of Europe's biggest fairs dedicated to Central European wines, I dug into the term a little and tried to figure out what it means and how it really relates to wine. themorningclaret.com/p/the-empire...

@simonjwoolf.com pure genius

Looking back over 13 years of a fair dedicated purely to orange wines. And memories of when people used to make fun of me because I insisted that orange wine is not some kind of stupid trend. themorningclaret.com/p/orange-win...

Had a great conversation last weekend, with Tamlyn Currin from @jancisrobinson.com about scoring wines. I realised that not publishing scores is a form of commercial suicide as a wine writer, because it means you never, ever get quoted by wineries or importers. Still not capitulating though....

Any natural wine sceptics in the house should try the pure, terroir-driven wines of Vino Gross, from Štajerska, NE Slovenia. Amazing wines on any level. When you learn that they're also produced with no added sulphites, your jaw drops. At least mine did. themorningclaret.com/p/vino-gross...

High(ish) on my to-do list is to try to interact a bit more on Bluesky and actually try to get something useful out of it. But for now I'm going to carry on link-dumping my work, cos I'm proud of it. themorningclaret.com/p/tmc-guide-...

Yes I still love Bordeaux. And I explain why in this guide, where we review 37 organic, biodynamic, low-intervention reds. No there aren't any scores. Yes you have to pay. I worked like crazy to bring you this guide. themorningclaret.com/p/tmc-guide-...

So not one person complained about the lack of scores yet . . .

"Our supermarkets may still be full of industrial swill that costs €5 a bottle and says Grand Vin de Bordeaux on the label (I can assure you there will be nothing grand about it, and probably little to do with vin either), but there is another reality" Thank you @simonjwoolf.com

A'ight Bordeaux fans... go do your nut over this one: themorningclaret.com/p/tmc-guide-...

Love it when a proper discussion ensues in the comments! My piece about a tiny little mistranslation that might have spawned a monster. themorningclaret.com/p/how-a-fals... #naturalwine

Both parts of themorningclaret.com 's first ever wine guide are now online! We blind tasted through 44 orange wines from Collio (= every producer & nearly every orange currently made in the region). Read our faves, recommendations & tasting notes here: themorningclaret.com/p/tmc-guide-...

Proudly presenting TMC's very first wine guide. Three of us tasted 44 orange wines from Friuli Collio, and here is part 1 of my report, with our overall favourites and the first half of the producer profiles. I'd love to know what you think. Sorry, no scores! themorningclaret.com/p/tmc-guide-...

A response to my article of last week, this is mostly a guest post from Anthony Rose (who I don't think is on here) themorningclaret.com/p/not-everyo...

Some very healthy cynicism from @simonjwoolf.com. Scores give the illusion of precision and consistency. I don’t even think they are much good for their small target market. And critics are incentivised to over-score for clout, causing further devaluation. themorningclaret.com/p/are-wine-s...

Brilliant piece on wine scores by @simonjwoolf.com themorningclaret.com/p/are-wine-s...

I just signed an executive order to call orange wines orange wine. themorningclaret.com/p/call-me-by...

Rather huge news, that has been quietly reported in a few organs over the last few weeks: Consorzio Collio has voted to create an orange wine classification as part of DOC Collio. I took a detailed look and asked main man Saša Radikon for his input. themorningclaret.com/p/call-me-by...

Don't know whether to laugh or cry at 2025? Well you may as well laugh I guess.... themorningclaret.com/p/wine-predi...

Let's see how long Meta's "no fact checking" policy lasts.

Welcoming 2025 with my Top 10 Budget Natural Wines. How far do you have to compromise, and how low can you go in terms of price if you still want to drink wine that feels like an honest, authentic beverage? First 2 recommendations are free to read! themorningclaret.com/p/top-ten-bu...

Started watching Black Doves on Netflix, and my first thought (apart from that it's really very good) is how much of modern drama revolves around the (mobile) phone. Every few minutes someone has to answer their phone, and that's how the story advances. This is the modern way.

This was my last wine fair of 2024, and a very special one at that. Živijo! is a memorial/celebration of Stanko Radikon's life, held on his birthday 20th December every second year. themorningclaret.com/p/happy-birt...

Two of the most stunning bottles I enjoyed over Christmas. The Tondonia reserve 07 opened wonderfully over the course of an hour to reveal so much beautiful fruit. Bellene 10, wow, so fresh, aromatic and pure but with proper grunt and structure underpinning the fruit. Sensational.