Rioja is successfully resisting the trend, seen in the remainder of Spain, to produce jammy, sweetish, oaky, highly alcoholic and ordinary wines, which are currently severely damaging the reputation of Spanish wines in general, in spite of generous ratings and reviews, particularly in American media. There were few tastings in the course of the past year that saw us as enthusiastic as this one.

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The Navarra region is located in the northeast of Spain, between the Pyrenees and the Ebro valley. The situation is unique on the Iberian peninsula, with a meeting of Atlantic, continental and Mediterranean climates, producing exceptionally diverse ecosystems and vegetation: hillside slopes, river landscapes, plains and high-altitude plains combine to create a diverse landscape. The wine growing region covers a vineyard area of around 12,000 hectares, and is located to the south of the regional capital Pamplona and bears the protected designation of origin “Denominación de Origen Protegida” (DOP). Navarra consists of five growing districts: Baja Montaña, Valdizarbe, Tierra Estella, Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja.

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Brunello di Montalcino is anything but a simple and easily approachable wine. A top-notch Brunello is decidedly tart, even austere, often cool and very firm, its fruit is challenging rather than silky. After some ups and down in quality round about the millennium, which was probably a result of a too rapid increase in vineyard area and in the number of producers, the outstanding 2006 vintage sees a superb return to form for Brunello di Montalcino. It can be said that never before has a vintage shown so many wines of such quality. At the same time, at this stage many of the Brunellos tasted remained rather closed, in spite of extensive aeration. We believe a few more years of bottle maturation will see a further improvement in many of these wines.

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Wagram, Kremstal, and Traisental are relatively young Austrian wine growing regions and therefore not as well known to foreign wine consumers as for example is the Wachau. However, a closer look to these often actually very old wine regions is worthwile. Although the Grüner Veltliner is by far the dominating grape variety, one can find here an enormous diversity of styles and characters – and frequently impressive qualities.

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The Thermenregion wine growing area has a total vineyard area of around 2,200 hectares, divided among some 1,250 wine growers and producers. It was created in 1985 when the regions Gumpoldskirchen and Bad Vöslau, which up to then had been independent, were merged. The former designation for both regions was Südbahn (southern train line, which runs from Vienna to here), a term still used today by older wine enthusiasts. The Thermenregion is the south-western section of the Vienna Basin, and is one of the warmest regions in Austria.

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The dry red wines of Alto Adige can be roughly divided into five categories: Schiava (also known locally as Vernatsch), Lagrein, blends, Cabernet/Merlot, and Pinot Noir. More and more, the indigenous varieties are the ones that form the profile of the region. We have compiled a selection of the best Alto Adige red wines in our BEST OF ranking list, following the five mentioned categories.

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This wine growing region, with a total vineyard area of 910 hectares divided among some 750 wine growers and producers is located in the federal state of Lower Austria, close to Vienna, and is one of the smallest regions in Austria. Carnuntum derives its name from an important city that existed here in Roman times, in its heyday it had some 50,000 inhabitants and a large amphitheatre.

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Ignoring Vienna for the moment, which holds a special position, Styria is the smallest wine growing region in Austria, albeit one showing relatively rapid growth. From the outside, the three sub-zones of Western Styria, Southern Styria and South-Eastern Styria are usually perceived as being less independent and distinctive than, say, the individual wine growing regions in Lower Austria, nevertheless they show more differences among each other than do, for example, the Kamptal and Kremstal regions.

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The past decade has provided German red wine producers with a whole series of excellent vintages, and the 2009 vintage looks set to top them all. We certainly cannot remember any other vintage in which we were privileged to taste so many fine, elegant and at the same time complex red wines full of character.

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With a total vineyard area of 13,840 hectares, the Burgenland region is the second-largest wine growing region in Austria, and is also considered to be the warmest region. The northern part of Burgenland, in particular, is strongly influenced by the hot continental pannonian climate, and as a result many of the most full-bodied red wines produced in Austria hail from this region. There are significant differences within the federal state, even though the two more southerly regions, Mittelburgenland and Südburgenland, are also subject to a pannonian climate, the character of the wines produced here is different.

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The Weinviertel region, with its total vineyard area of 13,356 ha, is the largest wine-growing region in Austria, and only around 10 per cent smaller than the Baden region in Germany. This is a landscape that has been cultivated for more than 7,000 years, with wine having been grown here for around 1,300 years. Roughly speaking, it is bordered in the south by the Danube river, by the Czech Republic in the north, by Slovakia in the east, and by the Waldviertel region as well as the Kamptal wine growing region in the west. This large expanse makes it seem logical that there will be differences in climatic and soil conditions.

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2010 will certainly not go down in history as a great vintage in Germany. However, to buy wines only in accordance with such a sweeping generalisation would mean to lose out on some of the best wines around. "Großes Gewächs" and "Erstes Gewächs" are designed for the top categories of dry wines from Germany ("Erstes Gewächs" from the Rheingau region). We tasted 327 white wines of these categories, and have compiled the best ones of each grape variety in our current BEST OF selection.

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It really is surprising that the wines of Franciacorta are not better known. We can hardly think of another wine growing region in which it is so difficult to find a disappointing wine. Even for the basic wines, the average quality of this sparkling wine appellation from Lombardy is so high that you can virtually buy any wine sight unseen. We tasted 115 sparkling wines from the DOCG Franciacorta, and have compiled a selection of the best wines for you.

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The Denominación de Origen (DO) Alicante is located in the Levante, in the southeast of Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. It is one of the oldest protected designations of origin in Spain and is sub-divided into two sub-zones: Alicante Clásico and La Marina Alta. Alicante is part of the Valencia region, and the DO bears the same name as the province, in which it is located, and of its capita. The total vineyard area of the DO Alicante is around 14,500 hectares.

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It has taken just a few years for Sauvignon Blanc to turn into a highly fashionable variety in Germany. Although in many cases producers are still trying to establish a particular style, one can also note that in the ranges of some producers the Sauvignon not only holds its own against Riesling and the Pinot varieties, it often comes out on top.

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The Murcia region is located in the south-east of Spain on the Mediterranean coast. Surrounded by the regions of Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalucía, it is located in the Levante, and is also a province, while Murcia is also the name of the provincial capital. There are three wine-growing regions with a protected designation of origin (DO), named after the cities they surround: DO Bullas, DO Jumilla and DO Yecla. The total vineyard area of the Murcia region is around 47,000 hectares.

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Two hours by car to the northwest of Madrid lies the most important white wine growing region in Spain, the D.O. Rueda. According to a current Nielsen study this is by now the fourth most important appellation in the country – and that even though it is almost exclusively a white wine region. The characteristic Verdejo wines are also very popular in Germany. For a number of years now Rueda has been heading up the export statistics for the German market. These fresh, surprisingly fruity wines are grown on the poor soils of old Castile: bounded in the north by the Duero river, the lifeblood of several famous wine growing regions in Spain, lies the D.O. Rueda in the heart of the region of Castile and León, close to the capital of Valladolid.

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Ebay is the world's largest online marketplace and the largest platform for selling wines. Simple wines for every taste and Fine Wines for investment. But not every wine which is sold at auctions is the wine you are willing to bid on. Some sellers try to sell stuff that doesn't deserve the term "wine“.

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The wines of Austria have gained reputation in the worldwide wine business. World renown Critics like Rene Gabriel, David Schildknecht for Robert Parkers „WineAdvocate“ or Bruce Sanderson for „WineSpectator“ give highest ratings for Austrian wines, ever since Alois Kracher won international award after award.

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