Category Archives: Wine

Ripples Become Waves – Howard Ripley German 2017 GG and Reds

There’s a certain sedate quality to your average Howard Ripley Tasting. You turn up early to the grand venue, the Pension’s Room in Gray’s Inn, and for a few moments you can sip amid a sea of calm. Even when … Continue reading

Posted in Fine Wine, German Wine, Mosel, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Red Squirrel Portfolio 2018

I’ve been to the Red Squirrel Portfolio Tasting a few times now, and I can say with conviction that the 2018 event, at the China Exchange in Gerrard Street, Soho, on Tuesday this week, was the best ever. It was … Continue reading

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Vienna for Adventurous Eating and Drinking

Plenty has been written about the Vienna wine scene, and a whole lot more plastered over social media. You don’t really need a guide to eating and drinking natural wines in Vienna (although, as always, the Raisin app is your … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Austrian Wine, Dining, Vienna, Viennese Cafés, Wiener Beisl, Wine, Wine Shops, Wine Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Blank Bottle at Butler’s

I don’t often write about a single wine producer unless I’ve visited them, or at least met the producer at a wine event. I’ve known and enjoyed the wines made in South Africa by Pieter Walser, imported into the UK … Continue reading

Posted in Own Label Wines, South African Wines, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Merchants, Wine Shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Heuriger, Heurigen, Buschenschanks and Popups: A Walk in the Woods and Vines

Vienna now ranks alongside cities like London, Paris and Berlin for adventurous winelovers to dine out in, but it is the only city among these to have its own vineyards, which begin literally at the garden fences of its northern … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Austrian Wine, Heurigen, Vienna, Wiener Gemischter Satz, Wieninger, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Bars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wieninger and Wiener Wein

It is no secret that I have a disproportionate passion for Wiener Gemischter Satz, compared that is to most sane wine obsessives. It’s not just the flavours, nor an interest in field blends in general. Once you’ve seen these unique, … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Austrian Wine, biodynamic wine, Heurigen, Vienna, Wiener Gemischter Satz, Wieninger, Wine, Wine Tastings, Wine Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sisters Are Doin’ It at Weingut Renner

Our trip to visit Rennersistas at Gols began very early with a forty-five minute train ride from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Neusiedl-am-See, and an eleven kilometre cycle into the wind. It made us slightly late and very hot for our 10.30 appointment, but … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Austria, Austrian Wine, Natural Wine, Neusiedlersee, Vienna, Wine, Wine Tastings, Wine Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aligoté

Some years ago now I attended a “bring your own bottles” Burgundy Lunch, and was seated on a table with some genuine experts in the region’s wines. The red I took was a safe bet because I’d sourced it from … Continue reading

Posted in Aligoté, Artisan Wines, Burgundy, Grape Varieties, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Amber Revolution by Simon J Woolf

Every so often the near desert that is wine publishing comes up with something welcome and really interesting. Wink Lorch’s Jura Wine and John Szabo’s Volcanic Wines come to mind. Simon Woolf’s Amber Revolution fits firmly in that category, and has generated … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Natural Wine, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Wine, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Volcanic Wines – Foxlow (24 July)

Volcanic wines, by which we obviously mean wine made from vines grown directly on volcanic soils (or, in some cases, pretty much bare rock), have been a talking point for a few years. When John Szabo MS wrote his wonderful … Continue reading

Posted in Artisan Wines, Sicily, Volcanic Wines, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments