It's nearly 2026, which means it’s a great time to look back at our past year and the most exciting moments for wine in culture. We’re rolling out the red carpet for our Top 10 Unfiltered Moments of 2025, and while celebrities always reign at Unfiltered, wine crime never sleeps either, and a counterfeit Champagne infiltrated this year’s star-studded roundup! Read on for more, and click through on each headline to get the full stories; plus, sign up for our free Unfiltered newsletter for the latest wine and culture updates in 2026!
10. Bordeaux’s Irish Wine Geese Soar in New ‘A Sip of Irish’ Film
“We make Irish wine … but not in Ireland,” says Lisa O’Doherty, sommelier at County Kildare’s K Club, in the new documentary A Sip of Irish. She’s referencing Ireland’s “Wine Geese,” both past and present, who have traveled abroad to make wine in more suitable climes.
“The ‘Wild Geese’ were those who left Ireland and settled around the world,” explains Kingsley Aikens, “and many of them went into the wine industry, particularly in Bordeaux, and they became known as the ‘Wine Geese.’”
Director Frank Mannion, whose films also include Sparkling: The Story of Champagne, explores not just wine but Irish whiskey, beer and more in his latest film. Among the Irish-founded châteaus around the world that Mannion visits are many of wine’s most recognizable names. Read Wine Spectator's review and check out the exclusive trailer!
And for wine lovers who like their history lessons livened up with a little sex, drugs and exploding bottles, don’t miss last year’s late release about the founding of one of Champagne’s best-known grandes marques, Widow Clicquot
Posted Nov. 13
9. Champagne Lanson Cork Lands Centre Court at Wimbledon
The summer sports slams and their sparkling pairings are in full service at the moment, and while we eagerly look forward to Moët & Chandon’s return to the U.S. Open Tennis Championships here in New York, all eyes—and ears—were on the popping Champagnes across the pond at Wimbledon for the past fortnight.
For those not familiar, Wimbledon spectators have long been welcome to bring bottles of Champagne to their seats during the often lengthy matches in the July sun at London’s All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club—as long as those corks aren’t popping during play. Inevitably, however, it’s not unheard of for Wimbledon chair umpires to admonish fans for loud, ill-timed expulsions.
Posted July 14
8. Norah Jones and Maison Wessman Launch This Life Wines
Norah Jones knows that lots of celebrities get into the wine business. She just never imagined she would be one of them. “It would have never occurred to me to do something like this,” shares the American singer-songwriter, who has sold over 53 million albums since her 2002 breakout, Come Away With Me.
Just days before leaving for her summer Visions tour of Europe—based on her ninth studio album, for which she was awarded a Grammy earlier this year—Jones, 46, launched her new line of This Life wines. (The wines are named after a song on Jones’ 2020 album, Pick Me Up Off the Floor.) This Life is a partnership with Maison Wessman, a winery located in Bergerac, in Southwest France, in which Jones is now a part-owner.
“Sometimes you get tapped on the shoulder to do something interesting. Wine is a whole new world for me, and it’s really fun to do something different,” Jones explains, adding that it all began with a bottle of rosé.
Read Wine Spectator’s exclusive story for more details on the wines!
Posted June 18
7. Taylor Swift Sips Jay-Z's Champagne at Beyoncé’s Grammys
While newly minted country music star and American rye whisky distiller Beyoncé was the undisputed star of the 67th annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday night at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, it was Taylor Swift who caught more than a few eyes, with her choices both dress and bev.
The “Champagne Problems” writer was having none of those while taking in the show, toasting Jay-Z with a bottle of his own Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Champagne when the man with "99 Problems"’ wife, Beyoncé, accepted her first Album of the Year honor, for Cowboy Carter. (When last we checked in with Jay and Bey, they were vacationing at Cheval-Blanc in Bordeaux, just FYI.)
For more T Swift wine coverage, don’t miss her U.S. Open appearance (and what she was drinking) with Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes and the rosé she was snapped enjoying in 2024!
Posted Feb. 3
6. Netflix Releases ‘Chef’s Table: Legends’ with Four Culinary Icons
Ten years ago, Netflix’s critically acclaimed culinary series Chef’s Table became a breakout hit—telling chefs’ and restaurateurs’ stories one dish at a time. Premiering on April 28, the new season celebrates a decade with Chef’s Table: Legends, a four-part limited series focusing on the influential chefs and culinary figures who shaped the way we eat today: José Andrés, the Spaniard who can never stop; Thomas Keller, the chef who set a new standard for American fine dining; Alice Waters, who brought a new focus to the fresh ingredients behind fine dining; and Jamie Oliver, who taught a new generation in Britain to love food.
And if you need even more for your TV foodie queue, don’t miss Netflix’s Next Gen Chef!
Posted April 28
5. Bogus Bubbly: French Winemaker Accused of Selling Counterfeit Champagne
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Nor can you make Champagne from still wine injected with carbon dioxide. But that's exactly what Didier Chopin, 56, allegedly did, labeling and selling hundreds of thousands of bottles of fake Champagne from 2022 to 2023. For two days in June, a court in Reims heard charges of fraud, misuse of appellation and abuse of corporate assets. A verdict and sentence are scheduled for Sept. 2.
After leaving the courthouse, Chopin told reporters, “It’s a sad conclusion. I made a mistake, I am ruined and I have nothing more to add.”
Posted July 22
4. Women and Wine Rescue Season 4 of ‘The Bear’
Following another annual Emmy harvest, FX’s hit series The Bear returned to Hulu this week, along with star Jeremy Allen White’s infinity-pool eyes.
Like most fans of The Bear, we went into the new season with two big questions: Would it be as depressing as season 3? And would season 4 finally bring the wine?!
Dear Reader, the answers to those questions are a resounding “sort of” to the former and a very loud “Yes, Chef!” to the latter. And that’s as close we’ll get to spoiling this meal for you before warning that there are minor spoilers ahead!
We promise not to give away any of the major plot developments (because there aren’t any! ba-dum-tss), but there are major wine developments, and isn’t wine what we came for?
Posted June 27
3. What’s the Wine Jon Hamm Stole on 'Your Friends & Neighbors'?
Wine lovers and collectors watching the new Jon Hamm vehicle Your Friends & Neighbors on Apple TV+ took note of a very special cameo in episode 3: A bottle of white Burgundy, but not just any white Burgundy. It's real and it's rare and very expensive.
When Hamm’s character Andrew “Coop” Cooper—a hedge fund manager who has turned to robbing his rich neighbors to support his lifestyle after he loses his job—pilfers a bottle of wine from a friend who is a successful chef, it’s the sort of rarity that raises eyebrows even among people used to rare wines. Learn more about the wine, the winery, its owner and its real value here!
Posted April 30
2. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Introduces As Ever Napa Rosé
Our favorite royal-turned-lifestyle guru, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (née Markle), has been dangling the possibility of venturing into the wine business for a while now, and we can finally confirm the rumors are true: Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever debuted a wine label this week with a 2023 Napa Valley rosé. But can you still get your hands on it?
Plus, our favorite Duchess-turned-lifestyle guru Meghan Markle has returned with season 2 of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan. She’s back with plenty of celeb guests, delectable culinary treats, aspirational DIY crafts and, yes, more flower sprinkles. Who makes the biggest guest appearance?
Posted July 3
1. Regina King Creates a Tribute to Her Son with a New Wine Project
An actor, director and executive producer, Regina King has been a major player in film and television for four decades, including her role as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk, which won her the 2019 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Now she’s adding vintner to her resume, launching her wine label MianU, beginning with an orange wine sourced from California’s Mendocino County. Who was her inspiration?
Posted Aug. 11
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