Azienda Giribaldi Mario is a very conscientious producer of high quality wines in the Langhe region of Piedmont in the north west of Italy. "Piedmont" translates as "foot of the mountain" and here it refers to the foot-hills of the Italian Alps. The Langhe, an area of gentle hills and valleys, is the plural of the Italian word "langa" meaning a low lying long hill. It lies to the south of the town of Alba and to the south and east of the River Tanaro in the province of Cuneo. This area is famous for its food, cheeses and white truffles foremost, but also its wine, being the home of the DOCG wines of Barolo and Barbaresco among others including Langhe DOC wines that are made from non-traditional grape varieties and/or production methods. 

Clotilde Davenne is a qualified oenologist who has been making wines in Chablis since 1989. In common with another Burgundy renegade Patrick Piuze she does not hail from a background steeped in the tradition of viticulture and wine-making. Clotilde grew up on a farm but as a teenager she was attracted to a more sensory path than could be provided by a career in agriculture and so she decided to study oenology. Having gained her diploma she spent some time in California making sparkling wine and then, with an eye to the future, decided to pursue further studies in viticulture and marketing back in France before gaining some more work experience in the wine producing region of Beaujolais.

Ch. Martet is a wine estate in the small 250 hectare appellation of Sainte-Foy Bordeaux sandwiched between Bergerac a few miles to the east and Entre-Deux-Mers to the west and about 18 miles to the south of St. Emilion. The appellation produces both dry red and white wines the quality for which has improved considerably in the last two decades and consequently the wines represent good value for money. The original Château Martet itself has a long history having originally been built in the 13th. century by the Knights Templar as a monastery and having been used as a place of rest by pilgrims on their journey to and from Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. 

Canadian Patrick Piuze has a compelling story, from running a wine bar in Montreal to making AOC Chablis wines with chardonnay grapes that have gained admiration from respected wine authorities such as Jancis Robinson MW and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Attracted to both the wines and the beauty of Burgundy he spent some time working for Olivier Leflaive, the renowned négociant based in Puligny-Montrachet, before studying at the CFPPA in Beaune to get a formal education in his new career before going on to make Chablis for Leflaive. 

Jean-Paul Brun produces traditional Beaujolais wines at the Domaine des Terres Dorées which is located close to the village of Charnay some 40 miles to the north of Lyons in the southern part of the Beaujolais AOC region. Taking over his father's mixed farm which included just four hectares of Gamay planted vineyards in the area known as ‘La Region des Pierres Dorées’ (the region of the golden stones) locally in 1979 his growing enthusiasm for winemaking has resulted in him expanding his vineyard holdings to more than thirty hectares today and he now owns parcels not only in Beaujolias but also in the Beaujolais Crus districts of Morgon, Côte de Brouilly, Moulin à Vent and Fleurie. 

The Domaine Robert-Denogent is a small but tenaciously quality-driven producer of Chardonnay wines based in the Mâconnais village of Fuissé in the warm climate of Southern Burgundy. Situated approximately 70 miles south of the better known Côte d’Or, an area that produces the most celebrated and expensive Burgundy wines, the most famous wine of the Mâcon sub-region is Pouilly Fuissé AOC which is not to be confused with the Pouilly-Fumé produced in the Upper Loire wine region. The Domaine Robert-Denogent's vineyards were established almost a hundred years ago, following the cessation of hostilities of the First World War, by Claude Denogent, the grandfather of the current owner Jean-Jaques Robert who assumed control in 1988. 

Château Méaume is a wine estate situated in the Bordeaux wine region just south of the village of Maransin and 15 km. to the north of Libourne, the centre of the wine trade in Pomerol, and a similar distance to the north east of St. Emilion. The château has a history dating back several hundred years with the vineyards having formerly grown white grapes for distillation into cognac. When its current English owners Alan and Sue Johnson-Hill bought the property in 1980 the vineyards were growing mostly red grapes to be sold in bulk to make generic Bordeaux wines. The new owners, however, were on the cusp of realising bigger plans for their new acquisition. 

Château Puy Castera, in stark contrast to many other Bordeaux wine producers, does not have a centuries old tradition of wine-making history. Having only been established in 1973 by Henri Marès, and developed with the advice and co-operation of the famous Bordeaux oenologist M. Emile Peynaud, this 28 hectare estate, situated between the two famous wine communes of Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe close to the small town of Cissac-Médoc, achieved the remarkable feat winning the Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois classification in just five years. 

D'Arenberg Wines is located in the McClaren Vale area of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, where grape growing and wine production has a history dating back to the early 19th C when John Reynell planted the first vines here in 1838. It was in 1912 that a teetotaller, one Joseph Osborn, purchased Milton Vineyards, a well known estate of 25 hectares. Such was the success of the business that his son Jack left medical school to work at the property and subsequently increased the area under vine to 78 hectares. Grapes were sold to wineries in the area until he was in a position to build his own which was completed in 1928 and production of both dry red table wines and fortified wines began, principally for export to Britain. 

Chassenay d'Arce Champagne is produced in the most southerly vineyards of the Champagne A.O.C. region, namely the Côte des Bar in the French department of Aube. This vineyard area comprises 20% of the appellation, the remainder being divided between the Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. The House of Chassenay d'Arce is a growers' co-operative, established in 1956 by 50 growers but now numbering 140, which is firmly focussed on producing high quality Champagne wines. 

Château Haut Brion (A.O.C. Pessac-Leognan) claret is probably the most famous of the Bordeaux first growths and can certainly lay claim to the most impressive history. It was the only wine awarded Premier Cru Classé status in the 1855 classification outside of the Médoc itself, an area of impressive vineyard estates on the left bank of the Gironde estuary. Chateau Haut Brion is located very close to the City of Bordeaux at the northern end of the Graves district, an area as a whole more usually associated with white wine production.

Château Tour du Pas is considered to be possibly the top wine of the St. Georges St. Émilion A.O.C. (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée). The commune of St. Georges lies to the south of the town of Montagne and to the east of Libourne the centre of the wine trade on the right (north) bank of the River Dordogne. St. Georges is the leading satellite appellation of the more famous St. Émilion, known by lovers of fine Bordeaux as an area of prime Merlot vines. 

For over two centuries the name of DOW has been associated with the finest Port from the vineyards of the Upper Douro Valley. Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, the Symington family has built on the legacy of the preceding Silva and Dow families. Generations of Symington winemakers have worked at the Dow’s vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, creating from them Dow’s superbly concentrated wines that are intense and tannic when young, maturing towards a superlative racy elegance with age and scented with violet and mint aromas. Dow’s attractive and distinctive drier finish is the recognisable hallmark of the wines from this great Port house.

The history of W & J Graham’s spans three centuries and throughout that time this acclaimed Port producer remained an independent family business. The story of Graham’s is the story of two families, both of Scottish origin – the Grahams and the Symingtons – whose commitment to the making of memorable wines has earned for Graham’s a reputation as a leader in the production of outstanding Vintage Ports.

The Kay Brothers Amery estate has a long history having been established by Herbert and Frederick Kay in McClaren Vale, South Australia, in 1891. The first grape harvest took place in 1895 and it is now the oldest winery in the region still being run by descendants of the original founders. The family run estate produces benchmark Shiraz wines, for which it is most famous, as well as smaller quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Mourvedre (Mataro) and Muscat Blanc. 

Maison Nicolas Potel, negociant-eleveur of fine red and white Burgundy wines based in Nuits St. Georges, was established in 1998 following the death of Nicolas' father, Gérard, in 1997 and the subsequent sale of his Volnay estate Le Domaine de la Pousse d'Or. Nicolas had previously worked with various producers in Burgundy (Matrot in Meursault and the Domaines Roumier and Juillot) as well as in Australia for the estates of Moss Wood, Leeuwin, Wirra Wirra and Mount Mary and also for Tom Dehlinger in California. 

Mark Savage is one of a handful of British masters of wine and has the most incredible palate for undiscovered wines that he finds from both well-trodden and obscure parts of the world. Artisanal rather than industrial wines, these gems form a collection gathered over 40 years of travel and tasting.

The Mont Tauch wine co-operative is situated in the village of Tuchan roughly equidistant from the urban centres of Narbonne and Perpignan inland from the mediterranean sea in the forested Corbières mountains in the heart of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It was founded just before the First World War in 1913 as were many wine co-ops. in the midi of the south of France. 

Pol Roger Champagne was founded in 1849 and is one of the few Grande Marque champagnes to still be owned and run by descendants of the founder. At first Pol Roger bought in all of the grapes to ferment into wine from local growers but such was his early success that he soon began to buy vineyard holdings and today the company owns approximately 87 hectares of vines growing in the Marne Valley, the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. The grapes grown in these vineyards provide almost a half of the required total for the house's annual production of 1.5 million bottles, quite small by Grande Marque standards.

The port house of Quinta do Noval, located in the Pinhão Valley in the middle of the Portuguese region of the Douro and famous for producing its best wines from a single estate, has experienced a stunning rennaissance since 1993 when it was acquired by AXA Millésimes, the fine wines division of the worldwide insurance group. It has since re-established itself as one of the highest quality, if not the very best, port house(s) in the whole of the Alto Douro.