Not to be one always looking back, whenever I start a new year I try and think about all the great times of last year and it helps me get really up for all the challenges and possibilites for 2020. So whilst most of you are doing Dry January or something equally as healthy to …
Down in Maçon, in Southern Burgundy, there are a few producers who deserve a bit of respect. Or at least more so than they think they’re getting. I had the immense pleasure of having dinner recently with Audrey Braccini, head winemaker at Domaine Ferret in Fuissé, and this topic was a hot one for her.
The wines of the New World nailed it during the nineties and noughties on the shelves of the supermarkets in the UK. The French, the Italians, even the Spanish were blasted away by low priced but solid quality wines from the varietals everyone had heard of. Chilean wine was up there in the crow’s nest …
Will the world open their wallets to the best wines of Chile? Read More »
I got called out by Phil Cox from Cramele Recas during a tasting we did at his place. I’ve always been of the school of thought that to make a difference as an up and coming wine region it’s important to promote your local varieties. I didn’t tell him that was my view, but he …
It’s not everyday you bump into the best young winemaker in Argentina. It’s not everyday you can say that and it actually be true either. But when my mate, Louise, took me to meet the very cool German Berra of Finca Flichman at the recent London Wine Fair, it was fair enough. He’d been voted the …
I think turkey gets a bad reputation, mostly cos it’s a big bird and it’s hard to cook properly. Ever since someone bought my mum “Nigella at Christmas” then we’ve been having a great time of it. It’s also an incredibly good meat for promoting the production of serotonin (the happy hormone), so one to …
Chardonnay, for some reason, has been an unfashionable grape ever since I can remember. I don’t get why. How could you refuse a crisp glass of Chablis? A bit of Blanc de Blancs Champagne maybe? Something with the depth and scale of a Russian River Valley? Well if you can, you need your head testing!
At the minute there’s a lot of push to change the thinking about certain wine regions. For example, somewhere like Bordeaux wants you to know they can do good bulk brands as we’ve seen with Mouton Cadet. On the flip side, somewhere like Australia wants you to know that they do fantastic premium wine, and …
It’s bad enough when you hit the Champagne aisle and there are so many manufacturers and labeling terms that just mess with your head. Do I buy Lanson or Mumm? What do they mean by Brut as opposed to Sec? Then they throw this Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs into the mix. It’s …
NWTW #53 – So what is Blanc De Blancs when it’s at home? Read More »
For this month’s Wine Writing Challenge the theme is “Tradition”. Given the fact we’ve just been through arguably the busiest time of year when it comes to family-meet-ups, some of the things we all do when we’re together are still fresh in the memory.
