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.

A Bridge Too Far!

Posted on 15/07/2015 by dccrossley

I don’t really want to labour the point. Much has been said far more eloquently and persuasively on this topic by others, including Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, whose voices carry at least some weight. But I’d not visited the … Continue reading →

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Ode to a Wine Shop

Posted on 06/07/2015 by dccrossley

I have just heard the news that Roberson will close their Kensington High Street wine shop on 30 August. This is really sad news, but I do understand the logic. The lease is up for renewal and I’ll bet the … Continue reading →

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Absolute Beginners

Posted on 30/06/2015 by dccrossley

Some time ago I wrote a piece prompted by a comment made by Jancis on the lack of young people at the Bordeaux tastings. Now I have young people in the family, my children and their partners. Despite living in … Continue reading →

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A Bit of a Theise

Posted on 23/06/2015 by dccrossley

Terry Theise’s book Reading Between the Wines (UCP, 2010) had been floating just above my radar for a long while. It was the recommendation of Heidi Schrœck about a month ago which acted as a catalyst to make me read it, … Continue reading →

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Spice Oddity

Posted on 20/06/2015 by dccrossley

Major Thom called Ground Control suggesting the India Club might be the venue at which to see whether the Oddities theme could work for Indian food. As it turned out, the wines were not really very odd (on the whole), … Continue reading →

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Here’s to Your Good Health!

Posted on 16/06/2015 by dccrossley

The ping-pong debate over the health benefits of drinking wine is never far from the mainstream press in the UK, and the same can be said for most other Western countries too. It might not shock anyone that this has … Continue reading →

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The Talented Mr Ripley

Posted on 11/06/2015 by dccrossley

Okay, I admit, my proclivity for really corny headlines has seemingly gone too far this time, but you should not despair. Howard Ripley can be described as nothing less than talented, for he’s assembled much of the cream of German … Continue reading →

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Do You Keep Péts?

Posted on 07/06/2015 by dccrossley

Long before someone other than Dom Pérignon thought of putting bubbles in Champagne and the whole méthode traditionelle was invented, bottle fermented wines were commercialised using the Ancestral Method (aka Rural Method). The plan is that you bottle the wine before … Continue reading →

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Rhone Away Success

Posted on 04/06/2015 by dccrossley

Things so often happen in pairs, and after reading Matt Walls‘ really interesting article on Saint-Joseph in last month’s Decanter, I was invited by Vintrepid‘s Robbie Ward to a tasting of this appellation downstairs at Planet of the Grapes’ Holborn … Continue reading →

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Smells Like Teen Spirit

Posted on 30/05/2015 by dccrossley

Having previously discussed how young people are thinking about wine these days (a theme I’ll pick up on again very soon), I have just heard about a really interesting company set up to sell premium and craft spirits by a … Continue reading →

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