Magazine of the week: Alquimie

Australia has earned a reputation for good food and wine, so it’s no surprise to find the country produces a good few magaiznes covering these subjects. The latest addition is Alquimie, promising ‘Perioidic research & analysis of wine & beverage culture’.

The 154-page first issue launched yesterday featuring a pretty serious approach to its subject, as that promise suggests. It looks and feels good, a solid perfect-bound slab of matt paper with a silver foil logo on the cover. Unlike other magazines about wine and alcohol we’ve seen recently (Noble Rot, Hot Rum Cow) Alquimie features a highly stylised modern design that suits the different tone of the content (if anything it could do with simplifying the design further). It’s encyclopaedic in approach and the design supports this, with book-like single columns of text floating in white space. Stories are international, and include a report about Franfurt’s Apfelwein, a look at the rare Spanish wines of Ribeira Sacra, and a look at Lebanese food and wines through the eyes of local beer producer Mazen Hajjar.

This tight grid structure is broken occasionally some lovely, dramatic touches – the four sections (The Story, The Study, The Palette, The Excess) are divided by spectacular double-page images of full red wine bottles smashing onto the floor.

And there is plenty of colour photography, particularly when coverage is broadened to include related subjects like food and coffee.

Alquimie proves once again how it is possible to approach the same subject matter in so many different ways. And for AU$18 (£10) it’s surprisingly good value.