Meg Maker

Graphic sign with "CLOSING SALE" crossed through with a banner that says "NEW MARKDOWNS TAKEN." The cross-out obscures part of the word "closing," making it look like "CLOSTNO." A different font in this instance might have helped.

Font matters.

march, stalk, pace, tread, step, walk

Sparkling Wines of Hundred Hills Notes from my recent visit to this young project in the hills of Oxfordshire

Hundred Hills Winery is a young project in the rolling landscape southeast of Oxford. I visited on a sultry day in early July, striding the chalky rows before tasting wines in the cellar. My report: www.makerstable.com/p/sparkling-...

London, Backward and Forward Revisiting London with pen in hand

www.makerstable.com/p/london-bac...
#writing #memoir

My local public radio stations, NHPR and VPR, just got more of my money.
#publicbroadcasting

Amber Meets Rosé Two wines walk into a bar

www.makerstable.com/p/amber-meet...

Thank you! It was a pleasure presenting with you. Thank you for sharing your own vital research.

No Saints Allowed Good wine criticism demands a degree of detachment

“It was that phrase, ‘dutiful hagiography,’ that reached out from the page and grabbed me by the collar. Because who among us has not read such a profile of a winemaker, or even of a particular wine itself, in the pages of a contemporary wine magazine?” www.makerstable.com/p/no-saints-...

What is Malolactic Fermentation? Malolactic affects wine’s texture and flavor, and letting it roll (or not) depends on tradition, fashion, chemistry, and more

www.makerstable.com/p/malolactic...

Good question!

The Five Massican Wines of 2024 Tasting notes and visual impressions of Dan Petroski’s latest releases: Annia, Gemina, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Hyde Chardonnay

makerstable.substack.com/p/the-five-m...

Topic and Story in Wine Writing What is this about? And why does that matter?

A good piece of writing is a complicated machine. It has a shiny outer shell wrapped around complex inner mechanics. The shell is the surface narrative. It is the topic, and it is almost never the story.

www.makerstable.com/p/topic-and-...

Looking forward to meeting you in person!

Yeah, it's *really* complicated for me, too.

Drawing of a crown with a red X through it. Image is by Meg Maker.

#nokings

Daily Evidence A writer’s journal records the data that invites larger stories

My latest essay: www.makerstable.com/p/daily-evid...

Maybe, or restaurant groups or —?

The prices really are outrageous.

The figure did double, but it's a small amount overall. My guess it's mostly Napa Cabs, which *checks notes* remain expensive.

U.S. wine export markets have contracted substantially. In April, the year-over-year export value dropped by 41.4%, worsening the 28% decline recorded in March. The three main export destinations for U.S. wine—Canada (-93%), the UK (-29%), and China (-70%)—all reported significant decreases.

An Afternoon with Francesca Vaira of G.D. Vajra Francesca poured her family’s wines and shared the vision and philosophy that animate the work

“Here at Vajra, we work with science and consciousness. In Italian: scienza e coscienza. The root is about knowledge itself. You know the science—the scienza, technical things—and coscienza says you judge with your heart.”

www.makerstable.com/p/an-afterno...
#wine #barolo #italianwine

How a Hazelnut Spread Became a Sticking Point in Franco-Algerian Relations The wildly popular Nutella competitor El Mordjene has been banned by the European Union, a move some see as politically motivated.

"The El Mordjene affair...wasn’t really about hazelnut spreads. It was about nostalgia, memory, injustice, nationalism, globalization, decolonization, protectionism, racism, identity, immigration, invasion—the same things that all arguments are about nowadays."
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Are Wine Writers Trying Too Hard to Explain Wine? Most wine writing leans into objective realities, but wine’s subjective truths are more compelling.

megmaker.substack.com/p/are-we-try... #wine #writing

Execrable’s having a moment.

Evidently I'm someone who uses “execrable” in a dream and also someone who remembers using “execrable” in a dream.

I’m writing a piece that’s really innovative, total crap, or both.

Thank you!

Start in the Middle of the Action Nonfiction writers can use the dramatic technique from stagecraft to create propulsion that drives a piece forward.

“An actor entering through the door, you’ve got nothing, but if he enters through the window, you’ve got a situation.”

My latest: megmaker.substack.com/p/start-in-t...

#writing #amwriting #writingcraft #nonfiction

Barrel stencils on a wall in the workshop of Cockburn's port lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

I’m thrilled to learn I won 2nd Place in the 2025 World Food Photography Awards in the category Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year / Places.

Many thanks to the judges and organizers for this honor! Find all winning images at www.worldfoodphotographyawards.com/finalists-ga...

This is what happened when Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry Thomas Keller is a legendary chef. Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan hadn’t met him, until she went to the French Laundry and he asked her to leave.

Alternative title:

“What happened when Thomas Keller and MacKenzie Chung Fegan broke the Fourth Wall”

www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

😍