Mackenzie L Casey (@mackenziecaseyy)

Blind tasting isn’t magic. It’s elimination. You think sommeliers are guessing. They’re not. Red or black fruit? Fresh or ripe? High acid or soft? Silky tannin or grippy? Every answer removes options. Structure tells you climate. Climate narrows grape. Grape narrows region. That’s why it looks effortless. Next time you taste wine, give it a try. Start with one question: Red or black fruit? . . . . . #redwine #blindtasting #sommelier #winecompetition #blindwinetasting

Grand Cru vs Premier Cru - what’s the real difference? 🍷 Welcome to A Little Bit About A Lot, my series that breaks down wine terms in a way that actually makes sense. In Burgundy, the gap between Grand Cru and Premier Cru can sometimes be literally a few metres. But those metres matter. Grand Cru vineyards usually sit in the most privileged parts of the slope – the areas with the best mix of sunlight exposure, drainage, airflow and soil composition. Burgundy’s soils are incredibly varied (limestone, marl, clay, gravel, iron-rich patches and more), but the top sites tend to have the ideal balance for producing wines of depth, precision and age-worthiness. That’s why names like Romanée-Conti, Corton-Charlemagne and Le Musigny sit at the top of the hierarchy. Premier Cru vineyards sit just above or below these elite parcels. They’re still outstanding, they just have slightly less natural advantage – maybe deeper soils, more clay, a subtle shift in exposure or a cooler airflow. Vineyards like Les Rugiens in Pommard and Les Amoureuses in Chambolle-Musigny show how exceptional Premier Cru can be, often rivalling Grand Cru in complexity and longevity. The classification became official in 1936, when the AOC system legally defined Burgundy’s hierarchy – Grand Cru at the top, Premier Cru as the next tier. And here’s the best part: If you know what to look for (producers, parcels, vintages), Premier Cru can offer extraordinary value. In the right hands and the right site, a Premier Cru can taste just as good as a Grand Cru – often at a fraction of the price. So the simplest way to visualise it? Grand Cru is the penthouse – the most coveted position on the hill. Premier Cru is the beautiful floor just beneath it – same postcode, incredible quality, and often the smarter buy. More coming soon. 🍷 #wineeducation #wine101 #burgundywine #grandcru #premiercru

Handed the wine list? 🍷 Here are 5 things to do to look like you actually know what you’re doing - even if you secretly don’t. 1. Start with the vibe. Say something simple like, “I’m in the mood for something fresh and mineral,” or “I’m feeling something richer with more texture.” 2. Give one clear example. If you like Burgundy and it’s not on the list, try: “I typically like a Chardonnay with white-peach notes, a bit of minerality, and subtle oak ageing. What would you recommend that’s similar?” 3. Give a price anchor naturally. When I’m out with the girls for a casual dinner, I’ll say: “I’m looking for something really approachable around the $X range. What would you suggest?” 4. Look at the lesser-known sections. Regions like Sicily, Portugal, Austria, and the Languedoc often have incredible value at friendlier prices. 5. Double-check the description on the list before you choose. Look at the region, grape, and producer, and ask one clarifying question: “Is this more on the bright and mineral side, or fuller and richer?” Ten seconds of clarity on the list saves you from locking in a bottle that doesn’t match the style you had in mind. Save this and you’ll look calm, intentional, and completely in control when that wine list lands in your hands. . . . . . #wineconfidence #wineeducation #winetips #sommlife #winelistguide

A weekend with Salon Delamotte 🥂

The Gentlemen is a crash course in fine wine 🍷 Comment GENTLEMEN and I’ll send you the full guide to Season One’s wines.

One of Dom Pérignon’s most remarkable achievements is its ability to sit at the intersection of fine wine and global culture. It is a bottle collectors cellar for decades, studying vintage, evolution and Plénitude, yet it is also one of the most recognisable luxury wines in the world. Few Champagne brands have managed to maintain that level of credibility with serious collectors while also becoming such a powerful cultural symbol. Richard Geoffroy helped shape that modern identity during his 28 years at Dom Pérignon. Full episode out now.

The Italian Job, but make it wine 🍷

Full answer at very end isn’t what you expect!! 🥂 Comment your favourite vintage below 👇🏻 Full episode with Richard Geoffroy out now on YouTube. Link in bio.

Lafite to withhold their bottles for 10 years. 👇🏻 So what is en primeur? Essentially, buying wine before it’s bottled. In Bordeaux, buyers secure an allocation while the wine is still ageing in barrel, paying upfront and usually receiving their bottles around two years later. For collectors, it’s a chance to secure sought-after wines early. For @chateaulafiterothschild 2025 vintage, the stock kept back after that initial release will stay at the château for at least a decade. What would tempt you to buy a wine en primeur? 🍷

Napoleon III is the reason 🍷 The 1855 Classification was created for the Paris Universal Exhibition and ranked the leading Bordeaux estates largely by reputation and market price. For red wine, it focused mainly on the Left Bank, especially the Médoc, with Haut-Brion in Graves as the famous exception. The estates were divided into First through Fifth Growths, with Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Haut-Brion originally at the top. Mouton Rothschild was later promoted to First Growth in 1973. The wild part? More than 170 years later, that hierarchy still carries huge weight in how these wines are perceived, collected and priced.

The Woman Who Saved Château Lafite Cellar in WWII Full episode out now on YouTube, link in bio

Comment Gentleman and I’ll send you the full wine guide 🍷

New YouTube out now 🍷 Saskia de Rothschild is redefining what legacy looks like at Château Lafite Rothschild. From journalism to leading one of Bordeaux’s most iconic estates, she’s balancing 150 years of history with the realities of climate change, innovation and the future of fine wine. Inside Lafite, with Saskia de Rothschild. Link in bio.

The Michelin Guide has just released its Grape Selection for Bordeaux 🍇 Is there an estate there missing that you would’ve liked to have seen?

How do you keep a 60-year-old vines magic alive forever? You grow her daughter right beside her. 🍇 #emidiopepe

Chiara Pepe, now Head Winemaker at the legendary La Chapelle in Hermitage. She’s bringing her own philosophy to one of the Rhône’s most iconic estates with a few new changes…

Emidio Pepe is one of the great names of Italian wine, and for more than six decades his wines helped put Abruzzo on the world stage. Just a few weeks before sadly Emidio passed, I spent a day with Chiara Pepe and the Pepe family in Abruzzo, from under the pergola, to in the cellar to an unforgettable family-style lunch. It was truly an honour and a day I’ll never forget. Chiara Pepe is at a remarkable moment in her own story: carrying the Pepe legacy forward in Abruzzo while beginning her new role leading viticulture and winemaking at Domaine de La Chapelle in Hermitage. The future is bright. I hope you all enjoy the episode as much as we had filming it. Watch the full episode, head to my YouTube link in bio.

Give me a week in a château every week 💛

The screw cap should’ve been a dead giveaway 😅 But here’s how to start learning to blind taste wine 🍷 If you think you have Pinot Noir in your glass, start breaking down the clues. 🍓 FRUIT Red fruit → strawberry, raspberry, red cherry Darker fruit → black cherry, plum 🍷 STRUCTURE Pinot Noir is typically: • High acidity • Low–medium tannin • Light–medium body Then… where could it be from? 🇫🇷 Burgundy = red fruit + earthy/savoury character. Think elegance over power. 🇦🇺 Tasmania = bright, fresh red fruit + high acidity. Cool-climate is the giveaway. 🇺🇸 Oregon = riper fruit than Burgundy, but still fresh + often earthy. 🇳🇿 Central Otago = ripe, darker fruit + more body and alcohol. Usually the biggest giveaway of the group. Not included but 🇩🇪 Germany - lighter, tart red fruit, high acidity + often lower alcohol. (Spätburgunder!) The point isn’t to magically guess the exact wine, it’s using fruit + structure + climate to narrow down the possibilities. Note for the somms before you come for me 😂: a formal tasting is obviously much more extensive - appearance, alcohol, structure and far more varieties and regions could come into play. This is purely a foundation-level starting point I can fit into under two minutes and yes, the screw cap should’ve been a giveaway 😅

Normalise wine bags 🍷

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which translates to "The Pope's New Castle," is a legendary French wine region in Southern Rhone known for blending up to 13 different grape varieties 🍷

Comtes Lafon is renowned for its Meursault Premier Crus. Pierre Lafon explains the six distinct vineyards and what sets them all apart.

If you don’t know Jesse Katz yet, you should. Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast last year. 43 x 100 point wines. $1 million dollar bottle. Jesse Katz is the man behind Aperture Cellars in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, and one of the most exciting names in American wine. He built Aperture from the ground up, with a focus on site, soil and Bordeaux varieties through a distinctly Sonoma lens. Full episode link in bio. #sonoma #napa #jessekatz #wineenthusiast #winemaker

What is a Master Sommelier?

Burgundy’s forgotten appellation. Bonneau du Martray (@bonneaudumartray) has dropped “Corton” from the name of its Grand Cru to revive the historic Charlemagne appellation. Charlemagne is not a new appellation. It has existed since 1937, but almost nobody has claimed it because producers generally bottled their wines as Corton-Charlemagne instead. Bonneau du Martray is essentially making a philosophical statement: they believe their vineyards express the historic Charlemagne terroir and want to distinguish it from the wider Corton-Charlemagne appellation. The first bottles under the “Charlemagne” label have only just started appearing publicly in 2026. #cortoncharlemagne #burgundy #whiteburgundy #finewine

Drop some of your favourite Corton-Charlemagne wines below 👇🏻

Step inside one of the most impressive wine collections in Las Vegas. Miklos Katona, Director of Wine at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, and I explore what it takes to curate and manage the wine program behind one of the world’s most iconic luxury resorts. The full episode on YouTube. 🍷 @The Venetian Resort Las Vegas #winecellar #lasvegas #vegas #winetok #winecollection

How does Aligoté thrive?

Burgundy has another white variety besides Chardonnay that you need to know 💛

Wine critic turned winemaker, William Kelley @wgfkelley is Editor-in-Chief of The Wine Advocate and one of the most influential voices in Burgundy. But beyond reviewing the world’s greatest wines, he quietly makes his own in a small cellar in Pommard, with no sign on the door. I spent a day with William in Burgundy, and what struck me most wasn’t just the depth of his knowledge, it was his passion. In this episode, we talk about his journey into winemaking, the art of canopy management, why Aligoté deserves more attention, his under the radar/ insider French wines, and the wine scores debate.