Welcome to the new Rod Phillips on Wine

As a wine historian, as well as a wine writer and judge, I have a sense of the long-term history of wine, and I’m totally sure there’s never been a better time than the present.  Wine is made in more places than ever before, winemakers are pushing the boundaries of their craft, basic assumptions about wine are being challenged, and there’s never been a more educated consumer population.

It’s a great time to be a wine-lover and an excellent time to be involved with wine. These days I taste wines made in more different styles and made from a wider range of grape varieties than ever before. In the last 12 months I’ve explored wine regions in such diverse places as Alabama, Turkey, and Ecuador, as well as in more familiar wine-producing countries. My conversations with winemakers and other principals cover a plethora of topics.

This website is my main channel for passing on what I hear and experience, and I’ll update it continually. I’ll post reviews of wines I taste, report on wine regions, wineries, and wine bars I visit, wine events I participate in, winemakers I talk to, and wine books and other media I read.
I hope you’ll find engaging material here and that you’ll feel free to contact me with questions and comments.

CHEERS!