The Journal · Wine education

Learn to love wine,not just to buy it

Plain-spoken guides, real estate stories and pairings you'll actually use — the same knowledge we use to choose every bottle we sell.

Written & curated by The Wine Monk · Singapore, since 2014

Super Tuscan

The wines that broke Italy's rules — and changed fine wine forever.

Natural Wines

Orange, skin-contact, biodynamic — what they are and why they matter.

Food Pairing

The pairings that always work, and the rules worth breaking at your own table.

Wine Curation

How we choose every bottle — the process, the critics, the taste tests.

Explore by place

A taste of where it's from

Every region tells its story in the glass. Read the guide, then shop the wines.

Tuscany

Sangiovese · Super Tuscans · Carmignano

Piedmont

Nebbiolo · Barolo · Barbera

Champagne

Grower fizz · Pol Roger · Veuve Clicquot

Nahe

Riesling · Schlossgut Diel

Wachau

Grüner Veltliner · Smaragd

Sicily

Nero d'Avola · Arianna Occhipinti

From the journal

Read & pour

Guides, regions and pairings — written to be read, designed to help you choose.

Featured · Red Wine

Two Chateauneuf du Pape bottles — Marcoux 1998 and Beaucastel 2005

Red Wine · 1 min read

A Wonderful Wine Evening

An evening with two great Châteauneuf-du-Pape — Marcoux 1998 and Beaucastel 2005. Notes on decanting old vintages and letting aged wine breathe on its own terms.

Read the guide

Red Wine

Super Tuscan · 1 min

Rising Bolgheri Superstar

How Orma from Tenuta Sette Ponti became one of Bolgheri's most exciting — and still affordable — Super Tusc...

Red Wine

Rioja · 1 min

Rioja Gem

Inside La Rioja Alta's Gran Reserva 904 — a benchmark Tempranillo blend and a masterclass in patient, elega...

Red Wine

Tuscan · 1 min

Great Value Montalcino Heritage

Why Rosso di Montalcino — the 'baby Brunello' — is one of Tuscany's smartest-value reds, and what makes Fat...

Natural Wines

Arianna Occhipinti Siccagno Nero d'Avola — personal photo from @iwoodwoodu tasting

Red Wine · 1 min

Occhipinti Wines — An Absolutely Inspired Effort

Arianna Occhipinti's Siccagno Nero d'Avola is an absolutely inspired effort from Vittoria, Sicily — a Sicil...

cellar

Tignanello 2016, Pontet Canet 2013, Vieux Télégraphe 2012 — photo @sidpathak31

pairing · 1 min

When the Night Demands Something Extraordinary

Tignanello 2016, Pontet Canet 2013, and Vieux Telegraphe 2012 — three exceptional bottles for an evening wh...

Red Wine

Tuscan · 1 min

The Bottle that Started Our Brunello Journey

The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino that started The Wine Monk's own Brunello journey — a revelation after an h...

Natural Wines

Arianna Occhipinti — organic winemaking in Sicily with Frappato and Nero d'Avola

new-to-wine · 1 min

"It's stupid not to be organic in Sicily"

How Arianna Occhipinti — who started with one hectare of abandoned vines — became the defining voice of Sic...

pairing

Morellino di Scansano 2016 from Fattoria dei Barbi — Maremma, Southern Tuscany

Red Wine · 1 min

Morellino di Scansano from Fattoria dei Barbi

Fattoria dei Barbi's Morellino di Scansano 2016 — a Sangiovese from Maremma that combines refinement with r...

Food Pairing

La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 2011 — a wine made for the dinner table

pairing · 1 min

Food Pairing Affairs

Italian wines are an easy couple on the dinner table. When food is loud, they listen. When it is quiet, the...

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