Author Archives: dccrossley

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About dccrossley

Writing here and elsewhere mainly about the outer reaches of the wine universe and the availability of wonderful, characterful, wines from all over the globe. Very wide interests but a soft spot for Jura, Austria and Champagne, with a general preference for low intervention in vineyard and winery. Other passions include music (equally wide tastes) and travel. Co-organiser of the Oddities wine lunches.

Heroic Viticulture and Thrilling Wines – Matt Gregory in Leicestershire

Posted on 13/06/2025 by dccrossley

We occasionally use the phrase “heroic viticulture”, but in doing so we are most often conjuring up someone whose vines sit high up a mountain in the Swiss Valais, Aosta or Chile. Fifty years ago we might also have said … Continue reading →

Posted in Artisan Wines, English Wine, Natural Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Heroes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rhône in White at the Sky Bar Edinburgh

Posted on 10/06/2025 by dccrossley

Sometimes it is difficult to know how good a tasting will be, and occasionally you think it could go either way. I didn’t know what to expect last Wednesday from Rhône in White, a tasting of white wines from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Artisan Wines, Rhone, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Masterclass, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recent Wines May 2025 (Part 1) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 03/06/2025 by dccrossley

May’s selection of wines drunk at home include a number which even I drink rarely, although it’s not only the more obscure among them to which that applies. We kick off Part One with a white Rioja. I’m behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Artisan Wines, Austrian Wine, Loire, Natural Wine, Nepal, Neusiedlersee, Rioja, Savoie Wine, Spanish Wine, Swiss Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sourcing Table – A Source of Excitement in South London

Posted on 21/05/2025 by dccrossley

When I lived in London Peckham Rye was not somewhere I could locate swiftly. That may have reflected the unintended prejudices of someone bound firmly north of the river (if you count the South Bank Centre as an exception), but … Continue reading →

Posted in Artisan Wines, Natural Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Bars, Wine Merchants, Wine Shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bordeaux by Georgie Hindle – The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide (Book Review)

Posted on 16/05/2025 by dccrossley

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Fintan Kerr’s Rioja Guide in the Academie du Vin Library’s The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide series (see review, 31 March 2025), I wanted to explore these handy little guides further. Although four further titles are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bordeaux Wine, Fine Wine, Restaurants, Wine, Wine Books, Wine Tourism, Wine Travel, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Recent Wines April 2025 (Part 3) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 09/05/2025 by dccrossley

The opening wine from this third and final part of the bumper April edition of Recent Wines (what we drink at home) is a well-aged Burgundy Grand Cru. You might think it’s downhill all the way after that but not … Continue reading →

Posted in Arbois, Artisan Wines, Austrian Wine, Burgundy, Czech Wine, Natural Wine, Spanish Wine, Swiss Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Recent Wines April 2025 (Part 2) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 05/05/2025 by dccrossley

To run through what’s in store in Part Two (of three) of my wines drunk at home in April, we begin in Germany and continue with Jura, Penedès and Champagne. We finish up with two wines from Czechia (or Czech … Continue reading →

Posted in Amber Wine, Artisan Wines, Champagne, Czech Wine, German Wine, Jura, Mosel, Natural Wine, orange wine, Spanish Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recent Wines April 2025 (Part 1) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 01/05/2025 by dccrossley

I promised last time out that April would be a bumper month. We had a couple of lots of wine-loving visitors which nudged the total of wines for the month to above twenty, and the eighteen that made the cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Alsace, Amber Wine, Amphora Wine, Artisan Wines, Australian Wine, Italian Wine, Natural Wine, New Zealand Wine, orange wine, Portuguese wine, Savoie Wine, Sicily, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Taste the Limestone, Smell the Slate by Alex Maltman (Book Review)

Posted on 25/04/2025 by dccrossley

Between 2010 and 2016 I subscribed to wine’s perhaps most serious journal, World of Fine Wine. On occasion I was able to see my own words on their pages, but back then it was, mostly if not entirely, a bastion … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology and Wine, Minerals and Wine, Subjectivity in Wine Tasting, Tasting Wine, Viticulture, Wine, Wine Books, Wine Science, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Recent Wines March 2025 (Part 2) #theglouthatbindsus

Posted on 09/04/2025 by dccrossley

We have just another five wines for this second part of my article on the wines we drank at home in March. That’s nearly a “Dry March” for me, but I’m anticipating a very “wet” April, as visiting season is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alsace, Artisan Wines, Bugey, English Wine, Hungarian Wine, Natural Wine, Welsh Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment