Welcome to The Morning Claret!
I’m Simon J Woolf, and I’ve been writing about wine since 2011, in magazines, books, on and offline. I focus on natural wine, and related themes such as organics, biodynamics, minimal intervention and orange wine. Not only are these fascinating and frequently divisive topics, they’re also deeply held passions of mine and they represent the kind of wines I want to drink.
Expect critical writing with a journalistic intent. I look for the story behind the wine, because it interests me more than tasting notes or technical details. I focus on on the lesser known parts of the wine world, including central and eastern Europe, Georgia and beyond. Austria, Slovenia and Portugal all have a special place in my heart.
My first book Amber Revolution - How the World Learned to Love Orange Wine has become the go-to guide on this hyped wine category since the 1st edition was published in 2018. Foot Trodden - Portugal and the Wines that Time Forgot was published in 2021, and co-written with Ryan Opaz. Both books were New York Times wine books of the year, and Foot Trodden was shortlisted for a James Beard award.
So you’re wondering, why ‘The Morning Claret’… There’s no good reason beyond some twisted British humour and a closet love for Bordeaux.
If you want to know more, please subscribe and join a community of fellow artisan wine lovers.
What do free subscribers get?
You’ll receive regular updates direct to your inbox, and unlimited access to all the content that I make available for free. I aim to make about 25% of everything published here paywall-free - I know that not everyone has the budget to spend on subs.
What do paid subscribers get?
For a modest amount (€7 monthly or €50 annually), you’ll receive all new articles and reports that I publish here. Not only do you receive my weekly updates, you get advance notice about more major articles and reports and you can participate in the conversation via chat, comments and so forth. Plus, you have unlimited access to my entire archive, which goes all the way back to 2011.
You also get that warm fuzzy feeling of supporting an independent author and independent journalism. This site has no funding apart from subscriber revenue. There’s no pay-to-play, no advertising, no sponsored posts, no collabs. If that appeals, please consider subscribing today.
Still need convincing? Here are some popular posts that you can read for free:
Austria's Love Hate Relationship with Natural Wine
Why did the cellar inspection team decide to go after a bunch of iconic natural winemakers recently? Most people see Austria as a haven for natural wine, but some of its biggest names are struggling with what they see as persecution and increasing bureaucracy.
Fine Wine isn't wine, it's just commerce
Last December, I sat in the conference room of an extremely expensive hotel located in Austria’s most exclusive ski resort town, Lech, with about 30 wine professionals. Four important people sat on stage and discussed the question ‘What is fine wine?’
Natural wine shouldn't be a style
Natural wine was supposed to be about ideals, but did it just became a style equated with cloudy, funky wines?
