The Magpie's Guide to Montalcino

After nearly twenty years at the helm of a small winery, Brunello expert Laura Gray here brings together a dazzling range of eclectic knowledge about both city and wine, with an analytic eye for detail and an irreverent attitude to life.

Is The Magpie's Guide to Montalcino a guide-book? Is it a lexicon? A glossary? A wine compendium? It is all of these and more. The format is A-Z but the selection criteria are entirely personal. Expect everything from etymology to cultural observation, historical curiosity to contemporary quirk.

Laura's ability to convey huge amounts of information with levity and wit underpins a deep understanding of the wine, the culture and the quotidian rewards of life in the extraordinary and singular city of Montalcino.

Born and raised in Scotland, Laura Gray studied English Literature at Somerville College, University of Oxford. The day after her last exam, she had her wisdom teeth removed, sold her belongings and moved to Italy. Her intention was to conclude the previous year's summer romance before returning to real life. Instead, she married him and they now have three children. She has lived there ever since. She had the good fortune to find herself in Montalcino, a beautiful hilltop town in the heart of Tuscany, where the prestigious wine Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is produced. The leap from books into wine was inevitable. Laura qualified as a sommelier in 2004, and was the CEO and manager of a small winery for twenty years. Since 2022, she has worked freelance as a winery whisperer as well as running bespoke art history tours.

Gabriele Gorelli MW is one of Italy's most esteemed wine experts. Born (1984) and raised in Montalcino, Tuscany, he became the first Italian Master of Wine in February 2021.