Category Archives: Wine Merchants

Timberyard Spring Tasting 2025 Part 2 – Passione Vino

Part Two (of three) of my review of Timberyard’s Edinburgh Spring Tasting covers the wines of Passione Vino. Part One, already published, covers Carte Blanche Wines. Passione Vino is an importer/merchant I don’t know too well, although you may have … Continue reading

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Timberyard Spring Tasting 2025 Part 1 – Carte Blanche Wines

The spring tasting season got off to a chaotic start in Edinburgh on Monday. Rather like the cliché about buses coming along in twos and threes, there were four wine tastings and a whisky tasting on the same day, all … Continue reading

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More Newcomer at Montrose

Montrose bar and restaurant on Montrose Terrace in Edinburgh not only gives its famed sibling Timberyard a run for its money in cool ambience and top-quality wine, it is also becoming a place where I seem to taste any wines … Continue reading

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Clay Wine Fair 2025 (Part 1)

On Sunday I was lucky enough to grab a space at the inaugural Clay Wine Fair at Edinburgh’s Sotto Trattoria in Stockbridge. The event, a celebration of wine made in amphora and other terracotta/clay vessels, was organised by Isobel Salamon. … Continue reading

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Recent Wines January 2025 (Part 2) #theglouthatbindsus

Part One, perhaps unusually, was quite heavily weighted towards France, only one wine coming from elsewhere (in that case, Australia). I go some way to redressing that, and trying to get my credentials for drinking widely re-established here in Part … Continue reading

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Recent Wines January 2025 (Part 1) #theglouthatbindsus

I thought I’d be starting the new year with a concerted attempt to drink some inexpensive wines, but whilst most of these wines (twelve bottles over parts one and two) are around my usual £30/bottle mark, there are a few … Continue reading

Posted in Alsace, Artisan Wines, Australian Wine, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Grape Varieties, Natural Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

40 Maltby Street and Gergovie Wines

There’s a restaurant in London where the food warms the soul, where the staff are remarkably informal, and where you can access a wine list pretty much unique in London, because that restaurant is tied to an importer of zero-sulphur … Continue reading

Posted in Alsace, Artisan Wines, Dining, Natural Wine, Restaurants, Vegan Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine and Food, Wine Bars, Wine Merchants, Wine Shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review of the Year 2024 #theglouthatbindsus

In looking back at 2024, the format follows previous years. Here, I will give you a few boring statistics before mentioning the highlights of my year. I like to mix it up, some wine things (wine books, tastings, rising stars … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Cider, Artisan Wines, Natural Wine, Review of the Year, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Books, Wine Merchants, Wine Shops, Wine Tastings, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recent Wines November 2024 #theglouthatbindsus

November’s Recent Wines are once again cut short, in this case by our trip to Nepal, taking twenty days of “home drinking” out of the equation, but we did manage to consume six bottles in the ten days we had … Continue reading

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Ally Wines Tasting (Edinburgh) – “Curiously Cool American Wines”

I was very pleased to attend a tasting/masterclass introducing Ally Wines to the Edinburgh market on Monday. Ally Wines (pron. Al-eye, not Al-ee) is a London-based importer of small production artisan wines from the West Coast of America. Under the … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Californian Wine, North American Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Masterclass, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment