Wine behind the label: 11th Edition

The 11th edition of Wine Behind the Label is published Jan 2019 with its most comprehensive analysis to date of wine producers, their vineyards and their wines.

The guide remains unique with detailed profiles of individual wineries from all the main producing countries of the world, as well as giving full ratings and scores for their wines.

The 10th edition includes full profiles of close to 4,000 wineries, including 251 new entries. There are nearly 7,000 wineries featured in total, with over 26,000 different wines rated and scored with price guides.

The guide has been updated to include all the latest wines and ratings from the 2017 northern hemisphere vintage and the 2018 vintage in the southern hemisphere.

Wine Behind The Label contains the most accurate information possible about wineries and their wines as it relies on a network of some of the biggest names in the international wine writing community to help compile many of the chapters, profiles and wine ratings. It is their work and expertise that has helped Wine Behind The Label become seen as THE reference book for professional and amateur wine lovers alike.

Contributors to the 10th edition include Jim Budd (Loire Valley), Michael Edwards (Champagne, Burgundy, Alsace and England), Professor Kathleen Burk (Germany, Austria and Virginia), Gary White (Portugal and South America). It also includes work from previous contributors, including Sarah Ahmed, Maggie Rosen, Stuart George and Ilona Thompson.

A key feature of the Wine Behind The Label guide is its full range of regional maps, with great detail of all the main wine producing areas of the world and their appellations. These have been fully updated and revised for this 11th edition.

It also includes comprehensive glossaries for wine and viticulture terms along with a guide to all the main grape varieties.

Previous editions of the guide have received international acclaim. The most recent coming from the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin which gave it a special prize in its international wine awards for its contribution to wine education and knowledge. Many other top writers and reviewers continue to acclaim the series.

As the 11th edition is about to hit the presses, plans are already in place for 2019, with more leading contributors from around the world for the next Wine Behind the Label. There is also a dedicated app Value for Money Wines Pro available from the Apple and Google App stores, to help professionals and wine lovers alike check wines for quality and value when out buying bottles in shops and restaurants. There is also a Members Subscription area on the Wine Behind the Label website, www.winebehindthelabel.org - which inludes a complimentary copy of the digital version of the 11th edition.

Nearly twenty years experience as a wine consultant, wine buyer, writer and editorial director have provided David with the background to co-author and edit a wine guide of such breadth and scope. During this period he has travelled widely and been exposed to hands-on winemaking and was one of three principal judges for the New York Times "Wine Today Europe" site of the early 2000s. Today he focuses his research on his own areas of expertise. He travels extensively to both France and Spain, taking in visits to all the major fairs and exhibitions. Alimentaria in Barcelona and Fenavin in Ciudad Real are consistent dates on his calendar as are Vinisud in Montpelier, the bi-annual tastings organised by Inter-Rhône and the annual primeur tastings in Bordeaux. Visiting winemakers in their cellars though remains a cornerstone of the work on Wine behind the label. As well as extensive visits in Europe, David visits the West Coast of the United States in most years. The vast majority of the most exciting hand-made wines Stateside can only be tasted in this way. As a part of this he has been invited to key local fairs and tastings.

Qualified as a chartered accountant in 1959 and became passionate about food and wine whilst working in Italy in the early sixties. There he encountered not only his future wife, Sonia, but also 2 litre bottles of "Valpollicella" made in a cantina in the back streets of Milan. He soon began to appreciate better quality wines, particularly French, and returning to London began building up his knowledge of wine with the help of Hugh Johnson. Wine and food soirées at the Blech's South Kensington home became a regular feature and the purchase of a run-down pub in Wales as a second home in 1971 prompted them to consider commercialising Sonia's abilities as an accomplished amateur cook. "Sonia, darling - you can cook a bit - let's open a restaurant". The pub was converted into a smart restaurant avec chambres, and opened in 1974, and in 1976, Sonia became the first woman chef in the UK to obtain a Michelin star. Returning to London to open the Mijanou restaurant in 1980, which became one of the fashionable restaurants of the decade, the innovative wine list resulted in many awards, and soon he was being asked to write a wine column for a magazine called "Restaurant Business" (now defunct - but not his fault!) and to help other restaurateurs with the composition of their wine lists, a function he still carries out today. The consultancy developed and in 1989, started his own wine importing company, The Wine Treasury, which specialises in wines from California, being one of the first in the UK to realise the quality potential of Californian wines, some of which are now truly world class players. The tail began to wag the dog, so in 1996 the restaurant was sold to concentrate on the wine business and the soirées re-appeared in a much more professional fashion with regular visiting wine producers as special guests. He continued to write occasional articles for various wine publications and broadcasted on wine for Jazz FM in London (also now defunct but not his fault either!) in order to make the distinction between Brubeck and Brunello. He has been a member of the Grand Jury Européen wine tasting panel and served on tasting panels for Decanter, Wine Magazine and other leading wine publications. In 2002 he sold The Wine Treasury to concentrate on wine writing and wine consultancy and his involvement with Wine behind the label. He is currently a member of the Circle of Wine Writers organisation and FIJEV (Fédération Internationale des Journalistes et Écrivans du Vin.)