It’s thatthat blog

Marketing, storytelling, sales strategy, digitalisation and pure wine stories.
Everything that makes wine move, in one place.
Margot van Lieshout, seated on the blog banner
What we write about

Wine, and everything that sells it

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The Playbook

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The foundational reads for building your wine business, in one place.

Crate of wax-sealed natural wine bottles in a cellar in Steiermark, Austria Wine Knowledge

The Natural Wine Movement in Steiermark, Coexistence or Conflict?

A conventional winemaker leaned across the table and told me he was worried about the young natural winemakers moving into Steiermark. Af...

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Rolling green vineyard hills of Südsteiermark in spring, slopes stacked to the horizon under a bright sky. Wine Travel

Steiermark: The Green Heart Where Austria Hides Its Best Whites

Austria's greenest wine country hides three sub-regions, a wildly varied soil map and a Sauvignon Blanc good enough to make you forget Gr...

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Schloss Seggau castle above the vineyards of Südsteiermark, South Styria, home to one of Austria's oldest wine cellars. Wine Travel

Austria's Oldest Wine Cellar Hides in a Bishop's Castle

I drove up expecting a pretty castle hotel with a cellar tacked on for the tourists. The Sauvignon Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxe...

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The Classic and Contemporary Australia trade masterclass, eight bottles lined up to argue the country moved on. Sales & Trade

Your Australia List Is Stuck in 2005 (The Wines Moved On Without You)

Ask most buyers what Australian wine tastes like and you get an answer from twenty years ago. A trade masterclass poured eight bottles to...

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Armenia

Home of the oldest winery on earth

From the Areni-1 cave to the winemakers of today: every Armenian wine story in one place.

A gnarled old vine with a thick, twisted trunk and green canopy in Arbois, Jura, France. Wine Knowledge

Old Vines Are Worth Preserving

They look forgotten and produce less fruit, so why do the best growers refuse to pull them out? The case for old vines, from the soil up.

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Margot cheek to cheek with a grey dapple horse outside a stable, a nod to the horse-stable and barnyard aromas that Brett throws in wine Wine Knowledge

Have You Ever Met Brett?

I greeted him and glanced at the smallest table ever, with chairs so uncomfortable, a churches bench would have felt more relaxing, and b...

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Green Touriga Nacional sign on a wooden post above vines, with sunburnt terraced vineyard hills behind in Portugal Wine Knowledge

Touriga Nacional Portugal’s Finest?

“Few would dispute that the Touriga Nacional is Portugal’s fines red grape variety, deserving a place right up at the top of the world le...

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A Pomodoro timer app counting down 23:40 on a phone lying on a warm wooden study desk, with green flashcards, colour-coded Post-it tabs and a pen WSET Studies

The Pomodoro Technique: Study Wine in 25-Minute Sprints

Focus is not a tap you can leave running. Here is how the Pomodoro Technique breaks WSET revision into 25-minute sprints that actually st...

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Hand holding a chunk of chalky white albariza soil in a sherry vineyard near Jerez, photo Lustau Wine Knowledge

Tickling Roots in White Sand, Sun Adoring Palomino Fino

In my opinion a very interesting variety that is highly adaptable to the winemakers’ choices. You can either choose to make a very neutra...

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Overhead view of a study setup on a white bed, an open laptop surrounded by open books, a tablet, a green notebook and a spiral planner with sticky notes. WSET Studies

How to Build a Study To-Do List That Actually Gets Done

"Prepare for class" is the most useless line on any to-do list. Here is how to write study tasks so specific they practically start thems...

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Barbera d'Asti vineyards rolling across the hills of Monferrato in Piemonte, courtesy of the Consorzio Barbera d'Asti e Vini del Monferrato. Wine Knowledge

Beyond Barolo and Barbaresco: The Rise of Barbera, Piemonte's Unsung Hero

Barbera lives in the shadow of Barolo and Barbaresco. Here is why Piemonte's unsung grape belongs on your list, with tasting notes on 14 ...

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Dark Nerello Mascalese grape bunches resting on black volcanic soil with vine leaves and the hazy slopes of Mount Etna behind Wine Knowledge

Nerello Mascalese a True Volcanic Varietal

This varietal grows across Sicily, Italy and loves the variable volcanic soils especially. It is planted throughout the Etna Volcano at a...

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A neat stack of wine study books, including Wine Science, Amber Revolution, Understanding Wine Technology and The South America Wine Guide, topped with two corks, against dark palm-patterned wallpaper. WSET Studies

What Kind of Learner Are You?

Copy the smartest person's study method and it does nothing for you? Here is how to find your own learning type, and why it is a menu, no...

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An open WSET study notebook filled with handwriting on a warm wooden desk, beside a watercolour paint palette used as a colour key, a stack of pastel sticky notes and two pens, in soft natural light. WSET Studies

Seven Dynamic Methods of Active Notetaking

For years my notes were just transcription I never reread. Seven active methods that turn a wall of text into notes you actually use.

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Monferrato a Unique Wine Heritage Revealed Wine Knowledge

Monferrato a Unique Wine Heritage Revealed

Is There a Future for the Indigenous Varieties of Monferrato. To those who dare to walk on the wild side?! I would say yes! The wines mad...

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Dark blue Pinotage grape bunches hanging from bush vines above dry straw coloured ground, photo Shutterstock, Magdalena Paluchowska Wine Knowledge

The Promise of Pinotage

Young winemakers are driving the potential of Pinotage and the wine industry in general, with a focus on craftmanship. Where its origin w...

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How to Plan For My WSET Diploma D3 Theory Exam

My week-by-week plan for the WSET Diploma D3 Theory exam, from a free Notion study board to handwritten summaries, wine maps and mock exams.

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Golden Roussanne grape bunches with their russet tinged skins hanging under the vine canopy above stony pale soil, photo Vacqueras AOC Wine Knowledge

In Pursuit of Rhône’s Remarkable Roussanne

Nestled in the high sloped vineyards of the Rhône Valley lies a grape variety as intriguing as its name suggests - Roussanne. This enigma...

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