Wine Explorer is an online wine magazine dedicated to curiosity, depth and flavour. Here you’ll find long-form articles, honest reviews, how-to guides and travel pieces – all with a particular love for wines grown in cooler climates. From windswept coastal vineyards to steep northern slopes, we explore how place, people and tradition shape what ends up in your glass.
Our focus is on producers who care about craftsmanship and character rather than hype. We like precision and freshness, but we also celebrate the oddities, the experiments and the bottles that tell a story. Whether you’re just starting your wine journey or you already argue about soil types at the dinner table, Wine Explorer aims to give you context, vocabulary and inspiration – without taking the joy out of drinking wine.
Contributing to the magazine are:
Johanne (Jo) Steensgaard Johansen’s interest in wine evolved during her years as a professional equestrian, travelling across Europe on a monthly basis in the ’00s. On the road, she discovered wine as a regional specialty – a liquid expression of local traditions, culture and, of course, terroir.
Later, working in some of London’s high-end wine bars, she had the rare chance to taste widely and deeply on an almost daily basis. That experience sharpened her palate and broadened her understanding of wines from all over the world, from classic regions to emerging cool-climate hotspots.
Today, Jo still firmly believes that a wine is best understood in its own surroundings: in the vineyards, in the cellar and at the local table. For her, travelling for wine is both the most rewarding way to learn and one of the best possible ways to spend your time off. Her writing at Wine Explorer reflects that – always rooted in place, people and lived experience.
Although originally a beer reviewer and brewer, Kim Lund Johansen now has an equal focus on wine. Over the past decade he has travelled widely in search of characterful bottles and has written more than 5,000 wine and beer reviews. Along the way he has developed a keen palate and a sharp analytical sense that give Wine Explorer an unconventional and often refreshing perspective.
Kim’s taste ranges from finely etched German Spätburgunder to sun-soaked Californian Shiraz, from traditional Old World reds to funky, modern natural wines. His background in brewing and his understanding of production techniques and the full “life cycle” of fermented beverages allow him to deconstruct a wine into its components and recognise the craftsmanship – or lack of it – behind the flavours.
At Wine Explorer, Kim’s contributions often bridge the gap between technical insight and drinker-focused writing: detailed enough for the nerds, but always anchored in the simple question, “Is this delicious, and why?”
Together, Jo and Kim explore wines, regions and producers with curiosity and openness, always with a special affection for cool-climate wine. Wine Explorer is their shared notebook – and you’re invited to read along, taste along and maybe plan your next wine trip while you’re at it.