Category Archives: Artisan Wines

New Wave South Africa 2019

The New Wave South Africa tasting was held on Tuesday this week, at The Vinyl Factory, the basement under Phonica Records in Poland Street. As always, there was a buzz going around long before this event, as there always is these days when the … Continue reading

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Victoria Torres Pecis – The New Star of the Canaries

A couple of years ago a friend visited La Palma, the most northerly and one of the smaller Canary Islands. At the time I had no idea any significant wines were made on the rather barren looking volcano of La … Continue reading

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Basket Press Returns to Plateau

I wrote about Basket Press Wines first back in February 2018. I remember that cold winters night, at Plateau in Brighton, and being warmed inside by my first full tasting of Czech wines. Eighteen months later and I’m back in … Continue reading

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Wink Lorch’s Wines of the French Alps

It is five years since Wink Lorch self-published her Jura Wine. Over those five years since publication this award winning book has proved an invaluable guide to a region which has gone from backwater to trend setter over less than two … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Savoie Wine, Wine, Wine Books, Wine Travel, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Septime La Cave

My favourite part of Paris is that around Oberkampf, and one of the most interesting streets is Rue Popincourt, which tracks down from Boulevard Voltaire, just south of Oberkampf Métro Station, until you are almost as far south as the … Continue reading

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Recent Wines June 2019 #theglouthatbindsus

That was certainly not the warmest June I can remember in the UK. In fact much of the month was wet and unseasonably cold. That means one thing…that we have not cranked our petnat consumption up to usual summer levels yet, although … Continue reading

Posted in Aligoté, Alsace, Arbois, Artisan Wines, Austrian Wine, Jura, Natural Wine, South African Wines, Sparkling Wine, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mastering Food and Wine Pairing at Masters Superfish

This is a wine blog, and I suppose that when I write about a restaurant I concentrate on the wine…and the food too, of course. But this piece isn’t primarily about either, but rather a musing on “lunch” in a … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Champagne, Dining, Loire, Portuguese wine, Restaurants, South African Wines, Sparkling Wine, Wine, Wine and Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Recent Wines May 2019 #theglouthatbindsus

Although May’s weather wasn’t perfect, it was somewhat better than June has been thus far. That might account for the inspiration to drink once more from the wide brimmed cup. We also drank deeply, I should perhaps say with a … Continue reading

Posted in Arbois, Artisan Wines, Austrian Wine, Beaujolais, biodynamic wine, Champagne, Czech Wine, German Wine, Greek Wine, Jura, Loire, Natural Wine, Savoie Wine, South African Wines, Swiss Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blank Bottle at Butlers – Pieter Walser fills us in.

Blank Bottle Winery was established in an old shack (a hinterhofkabuff, so the “story” goes, see later on) in Somerset West, South Africa, …something like  maybe fifteen-or-so years ago, according to legend (bare with me here). I will briefly relate … Continue reading

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London Wine Fair 2019, Part 1

London Wine Fair is a large affair, to say the very least. It’s the largest of the wine events I attend every year, but that doesn’t mean it’s where I taste the most wines. With a few exceptions, the main … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, biodynamic wine, Greek Wine, Swiss Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Festivals, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment