News
The latest news and views from the Académie du Vin Library
Helping us through Lockdown
Ben Howkins - The best headline I have seen so far (and indeed, they are in short supply this month) captions a letter to The Daily Telegraph. It is headed ‘Dry – like Sherry’ and reads: ‘Sir, Visiting my local bottle bank, the signs for a dry January are not great.’ Well done, London E1. Sherry does seem […] Read more >>
’Tis the Season for Cream Sherry!
Ben Howkins - If you run a Google search for ‘crème de la crème’ you are met with three delicious options, crème brulée, crème fraiche and crème caramel. But if you Google ‘cream sherry’, you will be bewildered beyond measure. I was. (I suggest you look it up instead in chapter four of my book, Sherry – Maligned, […] Read more >>
From Sherry Cobbler to Rebujito
In common with many drinks that enjoy international fame, sherry has, in its history, formed the basis for cocktail or aperitif type drinks. The two most famous are the Sherry Cobbler and the Rebujito. In May 2007, I published an article ‘Rebujito, an English invention called Sherry Cobbler’ for a local newspaper La Voz de […] Read more >>
Sherry: Raise a glass together
Ben Howkins - As we move seamlessly from fino and manzanilla into autumn’s call of amontillado and palo cortado, do our minds turn south to Jerez where today’s temperature is 30˚C as opposed to the UK where it is 15˚C? Do we yearn for Andalucía, flamenco and every day stretching into mañana? You bet. Covid 19 has prevented […] Read more >>
Important Reminders
Ben Howkins - That most readable of wine wordsmiths, Johnny Ray of the Spectator, caught my eye (again) last month. Empty wine bottles were the subject. Recycling was the context. Putting on a different spin, as it were, I used to jettison the bottle straight into the blue topped recycling bin, but such was the explosive crescendo of […] Read more >>
Fiona Morrison MW Meets Ronan Sayburn MS
In between writing up her tasting notes for Bordeaux’ 2019 En Primeurs (‘Gorgeous wines’), Fiona Morrison has had a busy week spreading the news about the latest version of 10 Great Wine Families – A Tour Through Europe. Her book, now boasting a smart new cover for its latest print run, was the hot topic […] Read more >>
Tales of Michael Broadbent
A few weeks ago I gave a webinar to the members of 67 Pall Mall on the theme of ‘Tales of Michael Broadbent’. Michael has been my inspiration and my mentor throughout my life in wine, and it made perfect sense to me that it was a new edition of his groundbreaking book, Wine Tasting, […] Read more >>
Famous Faces and Names
Ben Howkins - I was nearly blown off my sherry ladder last month. Reorganizing my wine cellar, I came across a neatly hand-written label stating ‘Mid 19th century Sherry’. Sourced via La Vigneronne, this piece of vinous history had kindly been given to me on my 50th birthday many moons ago. Crikey. Hands up who would like to […] Read more >>
Spring Scents
Fiona Morrison MW - For many of us, this Corona time is as if someone had pushed the pause button on our lives. I don’t think I have spent two months in a row at home for at least a decade and our mutual grounding in our respective households has given us much food for thought. Don’t worry, I’m […] Read more >>
It’s ‘En Rama’ Time!
Ben Howkins - Hands up all those who have enjoyed a copita or two of sherry in the last 24 hours? Good. One hand up if you have a glass of fino or manzanilla in your hand now? Enjoy. Hands up all those who are enjoying finer, older, aged, more sensual sherries than your usual tipple? Excellent. Social […] Read more >>
Never Wait for that Special Occasion
Ben Howkins - I don’t know about you, but in my wine cellar, there are certain bottles of wine that have multi scuffed back labels. These tend to be my older, finer wines. Wines that I earmark for ‘that special occasion’. They have become friends over the years, gently reposing in my wine rack until smilingly disturbed by […] Read more >>
Eat, Drink and Be Sherry No 5
Ben Howkins - Firstly, I do hope that you and yours are safe and sound amidst this surreal turmoil in which we all find ourselves. Although this is not the time for socializing as such, it may prove to be a time of prolonged reflection and relaxation that we never really expected to benefit from. How to make […] Read more >>
Tribute to Michael, from Simon
Simon McMurtrie - When I was a young publisher at Mitchell Beazley (I was 25 and Michael was 64) one of the first titles we published was the second edition of Michael Broadbent’s Great Vintage Wine Book. It was such a pleasure to work with Michael on this incredible book but there was no doubting he was […] Read more >>
Memories of Michael Broadbent
Steven Spurrier - How does one remember someone who was a role model in the wine world and a benchmark as a teacher and communicator? Michael has been part of my life since I first met him at Christie’s in 1966, soon after he’d recreated the famous wine auctions there. I recall watching him taste from a long […] Read more >>
The Cape Climate Change Experience
Michael Fridjhon - Read more >>
Eat, Drink and Be Sherry No 4
Ben Howkins - There is usually a valid historical reason why some wine regions in Europe produce sparkling or fortified wines, or indeed spirits, instead of regular wine styles. In most cases it is because the ensuing wine is not very good. Champagne’s grapes are well known – predominantly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – but not enough sun […] Read more >>
Mexican Wine: A New Beginning
Norm Roby - Read more >>
Barolo Bussia: in Praise of Balance!
Michele Longo - Read more >>
Montpellier Goes Green
Jim Budd - Read more >>
Modern Armenia Meets the Roots of Wine
Caroline Gilby MW - Read more >>
Loire: Frost and Frost Protection
Jim Budd - Read more >>
Historic British Vineyards
Stephen Skelton MW - Read more >>
Ben Howkins Takes a ‘Real’ Look at Sherry
Ben Howkins - The prefix ‘Royal’, or ‘Real’ in Spanish, assumes a certain status, especially when it refers to a sport, as in the ‘Real Madrid’ football team. The same can be said about those fortunate wine producers or wine merchants who can respectfully boast a ‘Royal Appointment’ tag onto their business. The three best known ‘Royal Appointment’ […] Read more >>
Pruning
Fiona Morrison MW - I am writing this as a long, low ray of golden sunshine illuminates Le Pin and the russet red sarments that are still standing to attention, supported by the taut trellising wires in disciplined rows, their architecture accentuated by the lack of leaves. This is a time of year when days like these are to […] Read more >>
EDITOR’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
I think seeing an actual book arrive, neatly nestled in its crisp brown paper parcel, has to be one of the most exciting moments for any editor. Rip open the packaging and there it is: no longer a flat but compliantly shimmying image on the screen of my Mac, but a real, weighty, page-turning, honest-to-goodness […] Read more >>
WINTER SHERRY
Ben Howkins - BREAKING NEWS: after several decades of ‘A glass of white wine please,’ and ‘Would you like a glass of white wine?’, it has finally dawned on many of us that actually we are fed up with the ubiquitous offer of the daily white wine ritual. So often unfulfilling; so often yesterday. Which region? What price? […] Read more >>
A FESTIVE UPDATE FROM STEVEN
Steven Spurrier - Well, here we are at the end of an exhilarating first year for the Académie du Vin Library, with four books published (just!) and six more in the pipeline for 2020. It seems only yesterday (in fact, it’s a good 18 months) since the idea of bringing back the literature of wine first began to […] Read more >>
EAT, DRINK AND BE SHERRY NO 4
Ben Howkins - Sherry, Understood, Enjoyed, Celebrated! Fresh from two weeks in the California sun, where I was wearing my Last Drop Distillers (‘seekers of rare, old, exceptional spirits’) hat, I plunged into the UK October autumnal weather with a feeling of huge excitement. Read more >>
Harvest at Thienpont 2019
Fiona Morrison MW - Winemaking: Art or Science? This was one of the essay questions that came up when I sat the Master of Wine exam. Having just completed the 2019 harvest at our three domains in Pomerol, Saint Emilion and Castillon, crunching numbers and going back to my school chemistry lessons has been an essential part of the […] Read more >>
October
Steven Spurrier - It has been a busy autumn at the AdVL with the publication of Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! by Ben Howkins. This was launched to great acclaim at the Consejo Regulador de Jerez on 15 October under the Presidency of Don Beltran Domecq, who then travelled to London the following week to present a Master Class […] Read more >>