As Senior Copywriter at wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd, I’ve written extensively for bbr.com, the Berry Bros. & Rudd blog and No.3 magazine.
I have interviewed and written about many of the world’s top wine producers. I have particular interest, experience and expertise in the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, though my writing has also covered Champagne, Italy, California, Australia and beyond.
As a freelance wine writer, my work has also been published in Decanter magazine.
Here, you’ll find a selection of highlights.
Cooperage: an enduring craft
Berry Bros. & Rudd No.3 magazine, Autumn/Winter 2024
Today, coopers are in ever-dwindling supply – yet barrels remain central to the spirits industry. There are estimated to be 150 coopers working in Scotland today. Charlie Geoghegan heads north to Loch Lomond Distillery to meet two craftsmen keeping the art alive.
Charlie Geoghegan: “If Bordeaux got out of its own way, more people might see what they’re missing”
Decanter magazine and decanter.com, July 2024
People like me aren’t supposed to like Bordeaux. I’m a Millennial from Ireland, and I didn’t grow up with a wine cellar. I wasn’t around for the fuzzy yesteryear you sometimes hear about, when a case of Château Lynch-Bages cost a few pence and Latour a few shillings. As I write, I’m trying to make the maths work on my upcoming wedding and buying my first home; filling a cellar I don’t have with wines I presumably can’t afford feels far-fetched. And yet, Bordeaux is the mainstay of my humble wine collection (that is, the wine rack I inherited from a neighbour). How do you figure that, then?
Loose rules for a picnic
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, July 2024
When it comes to picnics, there are few if any rules. Here, Charlie Geoghegan sets out why that’s a very good thing.
Bordeaux notes: off-road in St Julien
bbr.com, June 2024
Anyone who says Bordeaux is not about the vineyard has clearly never taken a Land Rover tour with a Game Ranger in suede loafers (and his wet dog). Notes from a particularly informative visit to Châteaux Léoville and Langoa Barton.
In search of a lingua franca
Berry Bros. & Rudd No.3 magazine, Spring/Summer 2024
Despite the best of intentions, the language we use to talk about wine has done a lot to reinforce exclusionary ideas about who should be drinking it. But who really benefits from it, and why do the words we use matter? Charlie Geoghegan shines a light on the complex world of wine-speak.
Bordeaux 2023 vintage report
bbr.com, April 2024
Co-written with Mark Pardoe MW, this report examines the growing season in some depth while also giving an early assessment of the wines.
Domaine Faiveley: big and small
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, February 2024
Erwan Faiveley leads one of Burgundy’s largest domaines – and one of its smallest major négociant houses. Domaine Faiveley doesn’t fit neatly into any one box, so how well do we really know it?
Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard: it’s complicated
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, February 2024
Can it be that it was all so simple then? Caroline Lestimé has spent the past three decades making life complicated for herself – and the wines from her family domaine in Chassagne-Montrachet have never been better.
Domaine Méo-Camuzet: a staggered revolution
bbr.com, December 2023
Jean-Nicolas Méo has overseen a staggered revolution at his family estate in Vosne-Romanée, from tenant farmland to Burgundy’s A-list.
Rediscovering St Emilion
bbr.com, May 2023
The wines of St Emilion are every bit as varied as its sprawling terroir, says Charlie Geoghegan. There’s no one style of St Emilion – and that’s truer now than perhaps ever before.
Petrus: “in the shadows”
bbr.com, May 2023
Olivier Berrouet has perhaps the most daunting job in the world of wine: making Petrus. Here, he reflects on following in his father’s footsteps, the unavoidable nature of typicity and the merits of doing nothing.
Château Léoville Barton: “a spirit about the place”
bbr.com, May 2023
There have been Bartons in Bordeaux for almost 300 years. Today, Damien Barton Sartorius oversees one of the region’s longest-running family firms. Here, he remembers his grandfather, considers his own place in the story and ponders the future.
Getting to know Burgundy
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, December 2022
Through a series of non-consecutive, though not entirely unconnected, experiences, Charlie Geoghegan begins to see the appeal in Burgundy. Over the course of six years, his recurring encounters with this often-mysterious region have resulted in a constantly growing appreciation for its fine wines.