PRE-ARRIVAL | NOBLE ROT ISSUE 41 // WINE JOURNAL

Issue 41 - Beyond the Pale | PRE-ARRIVAL - Arriving late June Published 23rd of June 2026 In this issue... Beyond the Pale, journeys from Portugal to Georgia, Germany and Greece; from Afghanistan via New York City to Los Angeles and California; from Spain’s Gredos Mountains to Hokkaido, Gloucestershire and Highbury Corner. At its heart lies the belief that wine is never simply a drink, but a way of understanding places, people and cultures through what they grow, ferment and cook. Among the issue’s featured guests, Lily Allen returns to Noble Rot 13 years after first appearing in Issue 3’s ‘Too Cool for Wine School’, reflecting on hosting friends in ‘My Greatest Meal’. Meanwhile, Contributing Editor Marina O’Loughlin joins actor, comedian and director Aziz Ansari for a long lunch at London’s Otto’s, where conversation moves between natural wine, filmmaking and leaving behind online life. Microbiome pioneer Tim Spector rounds out the issue’s contributors over dinner at Trullo, arguing for fermentation and pleasure in an age increasingly suspicious of both. The issue’s cover illustration, created by celebrated Canadian artist Gary Taxali, emerged from a blind tasting of more than twenty rosés conducted with Noble Rot’s sommeliers. Beginning with Mateus Rosé — the enduring icon of 1970s dinner parties — and culminating in Valentini’s benchmark Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, the tasting became an exploration of how rosé has evolved from kitsch curiosity to serious wine category (again). Elsewhere in the issue... ... Noble Rot travels to Portugal’s Bairrada region in search of traditionally made wines; climbs the steep terraces of the Douro Valley with the growers redefining the region’s unfortified wines; profiles California’s new generation of wine rebels and their improbable grape varieties; and visits cult Japanese vigneron Takahiko Soga on the wild coast of Hokkaido. Additional features examine Comando G’s influence on Argentine wine, Germany’s vertiginous vineyards, and a guide to Athens’ thriving food and wine culture. ... recipes for roast best end of lamb with creamed spinach and Georgian lamb chakapuli, alongside chefs Stephen Harris, Tomos Parry, Jeremy Chan and Jun Tanaka discussing the dishes they loved creating– but which nobody ordered.