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?
Never miss an update - 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 keep 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 get unlimited access to my entire archive (which goes back 10 years) and 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.
You also get that warm fuzzy feeling of supporting an independent author and independent journalism. This site has no funding apart from subscribers. 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:
