Category Archives: Wine Agencies

Out of the Box 2017 (Part 1)

Out the Box groups together seven small, independent, wine importers to give them a group platform in the ever competitive and crowded British market. This market may be both of these things, but it has also grown enormously over the past … Continue reading

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Dirty Dozen at the Vinyl Factory

There are a dozen wine merchants in this group, who were showing wines at The Vinyl Factory in Soho on Tuesday last week. How dirty they are, I’ll leave you to assess, but the dirt in question is terroir (presumably). … Continue reading

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Alto Adige at Solent Cellar

I’ve been down in the New Forest for a week, having family down there. It’s a lovely part of the UK, but increasingly it seems to be developing a real reputation as a gastronomic location as well. I’ve written about … Continue reading

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Social Me, Dear!

William Kelley’s piece on wine and social media in the new edition of Noble Rot got me thinking (and James Springall’s cartoons got me laughing out loud, spot on!). If you are reading this Blog Post, you may well have … Continue reading

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Tuff Act to Follow

In 2010, when Max Allen featured Tom Shobbrook in his seminal work on The Future Makers of Aussie wine, Tom had only been back in Australia for three years. He was embarking on a ten year plan to convert his family’s properties … Continue reading

Posted in Australian Wine, biodynamic wine, Italian Wine, Natural Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants, Wine Shops, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Radikon Action (To Unseat the Hold of the Monkey Mind)

Dynamic Vines showed eight wines from the Radikon family at Antidote (Newburgh Street, near Carnaby Street) yesterday. The reference in the title (to King Crimson‘s latest release) is not in the least bit fanciful. These are wines which provoke intense contemplation … Continue reading

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Strong and Stable – Howard Ripley 2016 Germans

When the world of politics is dissolving, you know that there are still a few remaining certainties in life, and one of those is that a Howard Ripley German Tasting will come up with the goods. Consistency is something the … Continue reading

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Crafty Little Tasting

Crafty Little Tasting was the rather nice name Alliance Wine gave to a tasting of their more artisan winemakers, which took place at Carousel, on Blandford Street (London) on Tuesday. More than 170 wines were on show, and I managed to … Continue reading

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Up the Junction

Thirty years ago I lived less than ten minutes’ walk north of Dalston Junction. This part of London was very different back then. There was no spanking new Overground Station where there are now two. There were certainly no “luxury … Continue reading

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Return to the Vaults Part 4 – Howard Ripley

In this final part of my article on March 2017’s Vaults Tasting I want to concentrate on the wines of Peter (Florian) Lauer, imported by Howard Ripley, but of course there were some other wines I had to try among the … Continue reading

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