We have been absolutely thrilled with the number, quality and creativity of the submissions to our wine writing competition this year, particularly because regeneration is not an easy topic (find the summary of our theme and rules for the competition here). The number of submissions we have received on the topic of regenerative viticulture, as well as the enthusiasm and dedication of their authors regarding the subject, makes us very hopeful for its future. Indeed, regenerative agriculture seems especially relevant now that so much of the word is experiencing record heatwaves and other extreme weather events (including a wildfire that destroyed the Cretan subject of one of this year's entries) – all facets of the climate crisis that regenerative agriculture seeks to combat.
This year's theme encompasses not just regenerative viticultural practices specifically but any aspect of regeneration or renewal related to the wine world, and the entrants to this year's competition have responded to this with remarkable creativity. Regeneration in its broader sense feels particularly relevant as we begin to emerge from a multi-year pandemic that has had a profound impact on the wine world.
We have received 64 entries from writers in or originating from 19 countries – from South Africa to Sweden, Canada to Kazakhstan – and they were all a pleasure to read. Those whose entries we were unable to publish should know that we are incredibly grateful for their submissions and very appreciative of the work that they put in to them. We hope to read more of their work in our future wine writing competitions.
The entries are being published in no particular order. We do not put them through our rigorous copy-editing process, instead presenting readers with the authors' original, unedited words. In some cases, we have selected only some of the many images submitted, and when the author has not specified exactly where they should go we have done our best to decide.
We hope to have them all published by the first week of September and plan to publish a shortlist on 7 September, inviting you to vote for your favourites. We look forward very much to hearing what all of you think.
The winners will be announced later in September.
Published competition entries
A story of regeneration in Rioja Alavesa by Melanie Hickman 6 September 2022
Bardos Cider and the Doctrine of Discovery by Daniel Mills 5 September 2022
Regeneration: The Canadian Way by Kate Burns 2 September 2022
The Ark of Tablas Creek by Anna Spooner 1 September 2022
Life from Life by Craig Camp 31 August 2022
ReGENerating Portugal: wild pigs and the ‘alma’ of the vineyard by Xeniya Volosnikova 30 August 2022
Vielfältig – The Multifaceted Regeneration of the Wines of Austria by Nathan Zachary 27 August 2022
Regenerative Viticulture: Building a Better Ecosystem for a Better Planet and Better Wine by Robin Renken 26 August 2022
Make Alsace Diverse Again by Mathieu Brochard 24 August 2022
Where have all the butterflies gone? by Artemis N Burger 23 August 2022
The World Upside Down: Contemporary Regenerative Practices in a 130-year-old New Zealand Cabernet Vineyard by Tobias Buck 22 August 2022
Stories of regeneration by Gwendolyn Alley 20 August 2022
The (re)generation game: The Torres family and regenerative viticulture by Josie Phillips 19 August 2022
Azerbaijan – Old & New by Nicola Kelly 18 August 2022
Regeneration of Vineyard and Team at Troon by Jeff Burrows 17 August 2022
Regeneration – changing our thinking by Caro Feely 16 August 2022
Thymiopoulos Vineyards by Olga Antoniadou 15 August 2022
Wine industry in Virginia by Calvin Howe 13 August 2022
Radishes, Peas and Hairy Vetch by Barb Wild 11 August 2022
Back to the Heights by Gergely Somogyi 10 August 2022
Pico – Reloading by Valeria Tenison 8 August 2022
El Neno Da Ponte by Ana Rivas 6 August 2022
The Wyfold Vineyard Family Affair by Mikey Clark 5 August 2022
Regeneration in the Most Unlikely of Places by Donna Moyer 3 August 2022
Rebuilding a Nation by Alisa Knoblauch 2 August 2022
Melampes and Malihin, not a Miyazaki movie by Christos Fatouros 27 July 2022
Regenerative Viticulture in Campania: Alepa Winery by Antonia Caserta 22 July 2022
What is a weed but a flower ‘out of place?’ and other Fukuoka lessons I learned from Tai-Ran Niew by Diana Hawkins 21 July 2022
Retama and regeneration: a memory of the desert of Almeria appellation by Charlie Leary 14 July 2022
Peter Hahn – Clos de la Meslerie by Allison Burton-Parker 13 July 2022
Additional information about this year's competition
WWC22 – your views 4 October 2022
WWC22 – who won? 23 September 2022
WWC22 – vote on our shortlist! 7 September 2022
Additional WWC22 prize announced 17 June 2022
WWC22 prizes announced 2 June 2022
WWC22 – theme and rules 26 April 2022
The photograph above, of a harvest worker on the Hamilton Russell Estate in South Africa, was taken by Alisa Knoblauch and featured in her WWC22 entry.
