Archive | October, 2013

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World Champagne Day

Whoever selected today as World Champagne Day must have had a bit of inside knowledge on what the weather was going to be like today here in the UK. It’s a bright, uplifting day just like a glass of champers, the synergy alone should be reason enough to pop those corks. Not to mention that […]

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Monthly Wine Writing Challenge

Enjoy reading these and then vote for your favourite here 1)     Desolé Beaujolais – by Confessions of a Wine Geek 2)     Trick or Treat – by Wayward Wine 3)     Oops – by BYWine 4)     Wine’s Oops Moments – by Talk-a-vino 5)     The Perfect Word for Winetasting – by MyCustardPie 6)     Oops – by Wine Raconteur 7)     […]

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Foamability

I’ve always called the effervescent in sparkling wine ‘the fizz’ but Professor Richard Marchal from Reims University  whose whole working life is dedicated to assessing, counting, observing, photographing, monitoring bubbles in wine calls the mousse that forms a ‘collar’ at the top of the glass when poured, ‘the foam’, so the foam it is. Frilling Foam Facts: 1. It is […]

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Heavy Metal

If you’re a wine producer how do you make sure your wine gets noticed, talked about and, mostly importantly, bought? You send a sample to wine writers and hope they actually get round to opening it. You send a sample to wine writers, hope they actually get round to opening it and like it. You […]

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Wines Meat Their Match

Warning: this is not a suitable reading for vegetarians or vegans. For incurable meat eaters, however, read on……. I realise that not everyone is a simple soul like me who is willing to eat anything and everything: from sweetbreads to tripe, from the bloodiest steak to succulent veal, from foie gras to any other form of […]

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Champagne Bruno Paillard

10 things I learnt at a recent tasting with Bruno Paillard in London (which Laura was very disappointed to miss, she does so like her Champagne fix): He does make some really very nice Champagnes, with the emphasis on elegance, purity and complexity.  Like many winemakers he also likes his wine to express minerality but […]

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Oops!

  This month’s theme, ‘Oops!’, was selected by last month’s winner the mighty talented Wine Kat, Kat Wiggins. Her winning post Possession – A Short Story is a joy to read and I recommend it you. Here’s my not too serious entry for October’s Wine Writing Challenge.     Things to do: Write an original blog on the theme of ‘Oops’ with no […]

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Cru Bourgeois 2011

“Cru Bourgeois” is one of those many French wine terms which sound unnecessarily complicated, but it is one that is certainly worth remembering and looking out for. It applies to around 250 (256 for the 2011 vintage) Médoc châteaux which missed out on the 1855 Classification but which still believe that they are a cut above […]