Excited to announce a new partnership with James Flewellen (WSET Diploma graduate) today! One of the goals of Dutch Wine Apprentice is to educate people and help them to better understand wine, making more educated choices, being able to hold down a conversation with a sommelier or wine merchant or just to discover new wines and develop your taste.
Educating yourself might bring you a lot but can also be comprehensive and even intimidating. The world of wine scares away people as much as it attracts them. Having studied with WSET I myself found out that textbooks are not always working in the way they should (no offense but there is so much information so it is hard to keep focus).
More and more people have tried to come up with supportive material that helps you to digest and keep your motivation, and of course I even looked into that myself. But what James has created is nothing short of magnificent! Armed with his talent and wine knowledge he set out to create Wine Maps of the different French Wine Regions, that contain all the facts you must know and are actually easy to digest. On top of that his Wine Maps are a feast for the eye and as easy to understand than the average subway map.
If you want to learn more about wine, French wine regions or just need some help on your WSET course (the maps are modeled with the WSET syllabus in mind) this is just what you need! Check it out on James’s website to learn more about them and order them for Christmas. The perfect gift for every wine lover.
Also I am happy to announce that James will be a guest on one of the editions of my talk show “Cellar Talks”. A great way for you to learn more about him and the maps! Stay tuned for the date. A more comprehensive review of the maps will follow in the upcoming weeks.
Discover Château Le Puy, a historic Bordeaux estate in Saint-Cibard that has quietly practiced biodynamic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking for over 400 years. From Vin de France Emilien to the no-sulphur Barthélemy, these distinctive Bordeaux wines reveal a rare expression of terroir, purity, and tradition beyond the region’s conventional path.
Restaurant Bisous in Amsterdam introduces Bordeaux Mondays, offering rare and mature Bordeaux wines by the glass from an exceptional private cellar. Each week features a different Bordeaux theme—from Pomerol to Grand Cru First Growths—allowing wine lovers to discover iconic estates like Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, and Château Margaux in an accessible and unique tasting experience.
At Wine Paris 2026, Annie Favia and Andy Erickson reflect on the evolution of Favia Wines and present the Favia Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (96/100), a benchmark expression blending Oakville power with Coombsville precision. Rooted in decades of vineyard expertise and a new Oakville estate designed for the future, Favia Wines continues to shape the identity of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with restraint, structure, and site-driven clarity.
Finca La Emperatriz, a single-estate winery in Rioja Alta owned by Hermanos Hernáiz, champions estate-grown, Viñedo Singular wines that highlight terroir, old vines and the historic Oja Valley. In contrast to Rioja’s large-scale producers, Eduardo Hernáiz focuses on organic bush vines, low yields and a grand vin philosophy to craft age-worthy Tempranillo and Viura that redefine Rioja identity.
Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion redefines modern Bordeaux wine from within the city itself, combining four centuries of heritage with precision viticulture and contemporary whole-cluster winemaking. Located in the heart of Bordeaux, this historic urban vineyard produces elegant, Cabernet Franc–driven wines that balance freshness, structure, and early drinkability while retaining exceptional ageing potential.
In an in-depth conversation with Managing Director Jessica Julmy, TEMPOS Vega Sicilia reveals a philosophy where time, not urgency, shapes every decision from vineyard to release. Through the contrasting yet connected stories of Alión in Ribera del Duero and Pintia in Toro, the group’s patient, place-driven approach unfolds as a quiet counterpoint to the speed of today’s fine-wine market.
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