Ilkka Siren

Ilkka Sirén is an award-winning wine writer and freelance journalist based in Helsinki, Finland. Ilkka started his career by working behind the counter at a local wine bar and doing harvest stints in wineries around the world. He is currently the drinks writer for Maku, Finland’s leading food magazine, but actively contributes to several magazines in Finland. Internationally his writing about the world of wine has appeared on VICE, Saveur, Meininger’s Wine Business International, Decanter, Fine Dining Lovers, and others. A wine judge, Ilkka has judged in Italy, Portugal, Bratislava, Brussels and Beijing. In 2015 Ilkka was knighted by the Confraria do Vinho do Porto.

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Articles

Wine Tasting

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Argentine Malbec, king of the delicious

Malbec is a grape variety native to France where it is still cultivated in a small part in Bordeaux and in the south. Hit in France by the phylloxera, he was forced in the 19th century to emigrate to Argentina thanks to the French agronomist Miguel Pouget.

Culinary Stops

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Fancy a glass of wine in Helsinki? Here are the best spots!

Discover our selection of the best wine bars and wine-focused restaurants worth a visit if you're planning a journey to Helsinki.

Wine Tasting

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Four soul warming fortified wines to enhance your winter

Let's discover a selection of fortified wines to warm your Holiday season. Not only Sherry and Port, look at this misunderstood but charming category of wine

Beer Tasting

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Unbeerivable: have you ever tasted beers brewed with wine grapes?

Somebody calls them "hybrids", but what lies beneath beers that are brewed with wine grapes or matured in a cask formerly occupied by wine? Discover the best vinous beers to try.

Wine Tasting

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Sniff like a pro with these wine glasses

What was once merely a vessel that carried wine from point A (the bottle) to point B (your mouth), the wine glass has become the center of atten

Wine Tasting

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Chablis, the land of Chardonnay

Chablis is one of the great classic wine regions.

Drinks

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Grenache, the grape with many faces

Grenache is one of the most widely planted grape variety in the world but it doesn't always get the credit it deserves. Discover the best wines to try in 2019.

5 must-visit cellar doors in South Australia

Culinary Stops

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5 must-visit cellar doors in South Australia

Enjoy our trip throughout the wineries that produce some of the most outstanding wines at the moment. Have you ever taste a glass of wine in a Cube?

Wine Tasting

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Rioja, a diverse and forward-looking wine region

Riojan red wine is a point of reference. But did you know that there's a rising attention to Riojan bubbles, too? Enjoy our trip through Rioja wine region!

Wine Tasting

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The Best Wines to Warm Up Christmas

Which are the best wines for Christmas 2018? From crisp whites to nuanced reds and tasty dessert wines, the best drinks to go with the best meal of the year.

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Wine Tasting

Article

Sauvignon Blanc is Not Only a French Affair

From the Loire Valley in France to the rest of the world: discover the best Sauvignon Blanc vineyards and how this grape variety reflects every specific terroir

Wine Tasting

Article

Oscar Quevedo: 'Don't Take Port Wine Too Seriously'

Everybody thinks that Port wine is for dessert. Discover in the words of a Port producer why and how it's always a good moment for this typical Portuguese wine.