A Toast to the Happy Couple
28 July, 2021
There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of couples whose weddings have been disrupted by the pandemic, and now restrictions are lifted they are all scrambling to book their venue, caterers and photographers. ‘Weddings are not just happening at weekends …
Life After Nouveau: The Rise of the Beaujolais Cru
28 July, 2021
Over the past 30 years, I have watched the wave of Beaujolais Nouveau rise, crest and break in Japan. It used to be the cultural norm for Japanese adults to drink Nouveau from plastic cups on the third Thursday in …
Intricacies of Sherry: A Tasting and Talk with Ben Howkins and Tanners
6 July, 2021
Join legendary sherry expert Ben Howkins and Robert Boutflower from Tanners as they taste and discuss the fine wine that is sherry. Date: Thursday 29th July at 18.30 BST Book tickets through Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/3x7mhAn About the event Sherry is …
Why Super-Tuscans Have Fallen from Fashion
22 June, 2021
In the 1980s, the wine world was in thrall to the Super-Tuscans. These pioneering Bordeaux blends took the market by storm, quickly commanding stratospheric prices. But while once hailed as a driving force behind the modernisation of Italian winemaking, today the …
Jason Tesauro’s ‘Grapetionary’ – A Wine Grape A–Z. Part 2 – D, E, F
22 June, 2021
Welcome back to our wend around the alphabet of wine grapes! Last time around, we departed from the usual list of known varieties and detoured through a fantastic trio of indigenous whites: Aligoté (France), Bical (Portugal) and Coda di Volpe …
The Wine Women of Bandol
22 June, 2021
The next time you gaze at the wine wall in your local supermarket, imagine each bottle as a person with dreams and aspirations. In the Provençal wine region of Bandol, a lot of those people are women, who may work …
Montalcino Bio-Tree Planting
21 June, 2021
Montalcino has more land under forest now than it did in the late 18th century. Photo credit: Monty Waldin At a virtual meeting held online on 3rd May 2021 winemaker members of Montalcino Bio, a body founded in 2015 to …
A Frosty Start to 2021 – Don’t Blame it on the Bougie
27 May, 2021
Bougies lit at Raimes Vineyard. (Photo Credit Raimes) In recent weeks, vineyards across Europe have been battling to protect their burgeoning vines from obliteration. The culprit is not a pest, nor is it a pandemic related threat. It is in …
Wine Statistics
13 May, 2021
What do wine statistics tell us about the world of wine? Admittedly, compared to the thrill of discovering a new winery, the perfect food pairing, or going back in time with a taste of a decades-old vintage, stats are a …
Bandol Rosé: A Wine of Many Pleasures
13 May, 2021
In France, as we emerge from the shadow of a pandemic unsure of how to interact with others, an old friend on the sunbaked Mediterranean coast anticipates our return. Nestled among the garrigue and olive groves are the vine-covered terraces …
Still Wines from Champagne – Fizz’s Final Frontier
12 May, 2021
A wave of new releases from some of Champagne’s most famous houses – and growers – is shifting attention away from the region’s fizz and on to its still wines. Essi Avellan MW explores the world of Coteaux Champenois Charles Heidsieck cellar …
New Kids on the Roussillon Block…
12 May, 2021
Vineyards with a backdrop of the Canigou. Photo credit: Conseil Interprofessionnel des vins du Roussillon The vinous landscape of Roussillon has changed enormously in the last 20 years or so, and it’s now finally beginning to emerge from the shadows …