‘Grapetionary’ – A Wine Grape A–Z
31 March, 2021
Quick, name a wine grape that starts with the letter ‘Q’. How about ‘Y’… or ‘J’? Remember Julie and Julia (2009), the book and movie in which a food writer cooks every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of …
In memoriam: Steven Spurrier
31 March, 2021
May 1976. My diary for the week starts with having dinner with Steven and Bella in Paris at their charming apartment in Rue de la Cerisaie on May 23rd. After regaling us several delicious 1961 clarets, Steven announced that we …
Explaining the Wine Flavour Tree
31 March, 2021
The Wine Flavour Tree developed by Sam Caporn MW. It provides an essential, easy-to-use guide for wine drinkers as to the sorts of flavours that are typically found in a selection of 40 popular grape varieties. Among wine professionals it …
Burgundy in the time of Covid
26 February, 2021
Pruned vines in Meursault Robin Kick MW counts herself lucky to taste the 2019 Burgundy En Primeurs For many, this past year has been a succession of what might be viewed as perpetual working ‘staycations’, peppered with travel bans and …
South Africa Beware
25 February, 2021
Photo credit: wosa.co.za On February 2nd 1990, the 331st anniversary – to the day – of the first grape harvest in South Africa, President F W de Klerk announced the imminent release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison. …
Helping us through Lockdown
28 January, 2021
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 …
’Tis the Season for Cream Sherry!
10 December, 2020
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 …
Barolo Vignarionda is a Whole Other Story
9 December, 2020
Vignarionda or Vigna Rionda, or Arionda, or Rotonda. The shape of this cru explains the many variations of its name that have graced bottle labels over the decades: the Rionda Vineyard, is so-named because ‘rionda’ derives from the word rotonda, …
The Wine Trade 1964–2020
3 December, 2020
How has the wine trade changed in the 56 years since I joined Christopher’s (London’s oldest wine merchant) in February 1964 to the day I submitted my ‘Goodbye’ column for Decanter magazine in May 2020? It has transformed in pretty …
Bordeaux for Lunch
19 November, 2020
A lunchtime claret. I can’t think of another wine that is associated with a meal in quite the same way. It says something both about the wine, the meal and the diner, who is almost certainly of a certain age …
From Sherry Cobbler to Rebujito
28 October, 2020
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 …
The Judgement of Berlin, 23rd January 2004
15 October, 2020
Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi Photo credit: Sena Winery When I received an invitation from Eduardo Chadwick to attend a tasting of vintages from his three flagship wines – Dom Maximiano, Seña and Viñedo Chadwick – to be held in …