The end of the year is often a time to indulge in reflection. To consider what you’ve learnt, what you’ve tasted. What winey delights did 2015 give you? I’d rather not attempt to count the number of wines I have tasted, presented and drunk in the last twelve months (my doctor might be reading this) instead […]
A Lidl message from Richard: ‘‘Lidl’s latest Wine Cellar Collection starts this Thursday, November 26th. As ever, I cannot guarantee exactly what will be in stock in your local store, but the following would be my picks……. Bissinger Premier Cru Champagne £15.99 Pouilly-Vinzelles £9.99 Riesling […]
If you are already thinking about your Christmas drinking or Christmas presents, or both, you may find these amazing Bordeaux bargains from Tesco Wine by the Case worth taking advantage of. All 5 are from top vintages, 2009 and 2010, can be drunk now but will also keep for several years and at these reduced prices deliver […]
Birmingham may not immediately spring to mind as the centre of the universe for Champagne. But think again. Up here in beautiful Brum, yes indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we have a lot to celebrate – a state of the art library, a new New Street station, Michelin starred restaurants coming […]
A few essential facts about champagne and lots more besides in this brilliant infographic by Michelle Mangan from http://www.theeurope.com/ – a stunningly beautiful place to pop some corks and sip some bubbly.
Australia is a country that I used to travel to regularly so I was excited about my return in October 2015 with 44 other Masters of Wine on a tour that took in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Since parts of Australia are 4.4 billion years old, the oldest known things on planet […]
I’ve always subscribed to the notion that older vines produce fewer but better grapes and therefore better wine. Producers brag about it on wine labels classifiying them as Old Vines/Vieilles Vignes/Viñas Viejas when they can and Alsace has now decided that any vineyard over 25 years can be described as old. Which actually makes me […]
Bragging isn’t a very British way to behave. So forgive me. But I simply have to boast about the amazing exhibitors we have secured for Love Wine, the wine festival BYWine is organising on 7th November at Hotel du Vin, Birmingham. For starters we have four of the most important and interesting local wine merchants; […]
Have you become an Aldi addict yet? The interest in the wines from the discounter stores is growing. Personally, I like what they are doing; alongside the core range, they are selecting good wines to be sold at good prices which, once these are sold through, will be replaced with another set of (hopefully) good wines at equally […]
Yesterday evening I presented a Médoc masterclass to enthusiastic and attentive Majestic employees. We had 8 wines to taste, mostly from the Majestic range, one from each appellation of various vintages. Each wine was a winner. They showed perfectly why Bordeaux, and in this case even more specifically the Médoc, has developed the reputation it […]