Noble Rot – Issue 38: The Wine They Don’t Want You to Know

Noble Rot Magazine is the home of exciting wine and food writing. Since its launch in 2013, Noble Rot has seen chefs Fergus Henderson, Honey & Co and Stephen Harris rubbing shoulders with artists like Brian Eno, Mark Ronson and David Shrigley, blurring the boundaries between gastronomy and the creative arts. Contributors include Marina O’Loughlin, Shaun Keaveny, John Niven, Neal Martin, Jamie Goode, Kate Spicer and Jon Bonné. The magazine is based in London, and published every four months in both print and digital formats.

Our Wine Culture is in Better Shape Than Ever

Whoever said young people in 2025 don’t drink wine probably hasn’t spent much time around young people — or good wine, for that matter. Yes, global alcohol consumption is down, and industrial brands are suffering losses. But from the day some 12 years ago that we published the first issue of Noble Rot we’ve been riding a wave of profound changes sweeping the world of artisanal wine, capturing the imagination of more budding winos than ever. Today, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing our twenty-something sommeliers, customers and readers talk passionately about their love of wine, or witnessing the growth of a thriving bar à vinsscene everywhere from Melbourne to Manchester. In reality, as Jon Bonné outlines in our 37th instalment, our beautiful wine culture isn’t so much waning in popularity as in better shape than ever. 

Also in issue 38…

One of the few irksome things about fine wine culture – apartfrom its pretence, and its propensity for snobbery – is the sheercost of getting through the front door.

Whereas anyone wantingto explore the best in art, for example, has access to Kahloand Caravaggio at their fingertips, few people will ever havethe means to taste the world’s most fabled crus. Which is why‘The Wines They Don’t Want You to Know’, Noble Rot 38’s tongue-in-cheek cover feature, is a coup for readers lookingfor world-class wines with a limited budget.

Having persuaded a crew of leading sommeliers, chefs, restaurateurs and wine writers to reveal their single favourite most undervalued bottle, it’s an eminently usable centrepiece to this issue’s theme of ‘simple pleasures’, featuring characterful cuvées from places like Rueda, Muscadet, the Itata Valley and Gers (us neither – apparently it’s in south-west France).

Language: English