The Aldi/Lidl showdown, a blind tasting of pairs of generic wines from both stores, took place in Birmingham and revealed some interesting points. Lots of people were curious about the tasting emailing me their disappointment at not being able to attend for whatever reason, something they don’t usually bother to do, and more since the […]
I just love it when a wine hits me in the face with a great big smack of quality, especially when I am not altogether expecting it. The Wine Society press tasting found me mouth agape, pointing with raised eye-brows to the Pouilly-Fumé I’d just tasted. Other tasters around me agreed. I had had my pen-poised to write something […]
There must be good reasons why you, the wine lover, doesn’t drink wine made from particular grape varieties. But often this stubborn refusal to learn to love what some of us think of as utter deliciousness is sadly based on myth and outdated prejudice. The most maligned of these dejected grape varieties is the exquisite, uplifting and […]
Most wine tastings I attend are, of course, integral to my job with my principal clients and approached with solemnity and reverence. Occasionally an opportunity comes along to attend a tasting purely for the purpose of learning – and, dare I say it, for the pleasure of experiencing less familiar wines. So when one […]
For those of you still depressed by how comprehensively England were thrashed by New Zealand in the cricket World Cup, the following tale may offer some cheer. On the same day as the cricket, a blind tasting took place in both Wellington and London that pitched some of the best English sparkling wines against the best […]
One of the questions I’m asked about most frequently is for how long a wine can be aged. To be honest, for most of us, this is not a question keeping us awake at night as apparently 98% of the bottles of wine we buy, we drink within two weeks. If that seems way out […]
I’m not sure why people ask me for how long they should keep their wine or for just how long it will still be delicious because most of us don’t actually keep our wine for very long. My friend does though and he recently put on a tasting of old clarets; very mature Bordeaux, mostly […]
At the risk of sounding like a press release, an exciting new course on (and, even more temptingly, in) Champagne has just launched. Organised by the Avize Viti-Campus and harnessing the resources of the Université de Reims, the course lasts five days and reveals Champagne in unexpected levels of detail and candidness. What’s more, because the presenters are […]
You may never have heard of Moulin Touchais before now but you might wish you had. The Touchais are a negociant family in the Loire Valley, in Anjou specifically, selling pretty good local wines. Their Moulin Touchais, a Coteaux du Layon, is their iconic wine, their Holy Grail, their stellar wine and all those other […]
I know not everyone is like me – wine-obsessed and list-reliant – but you might find this little compendium valuable. Forget, for a moment, thoughts about how to be creative with tinsel or turkey, and put your mind instead to the really important part of Christmas; your Christmas drinking. If you’re leaving sherry out for Santa, […]