Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Island wines: Gaining attention

Published: 13 August, 2026

What do Hokkaido, Essex, Pico, Gorgona and Tinos have in common? That’s right – they are all islands that produce wine. But Essex? Yes, it earns its place here too. Just why, I’ll explain further down. The fact is, island wines have become a thing just as Matt Damon’s epic return to Ithaca in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has got us all thinking about Greek islands. Greece, of course, epitomises island wines (though I would not put Odysseus’s Ithaca quite at the top of the list).

Losh and Goode blend Chenin from SA and Loire

Published: 11 December, 2022

Few would deny that Chenin Blanc is one of the world’s greats when it comes to grape varieties, but most would recognise that it sits far behind the likes of Chardonnay and Sauvignon in terms of recognition. Chenin is, of course, the de facto flagship grape of South Africa, also playing a strong role in the Loire. Here, in appellations such as Vouvray, Saumur, Angou, Savennieres, and others besides, the best – as with their Cape cousins – are world class, capable of developing great complexity while ageing for a very long time.