Category Archives: Wine

Sweaty Gym Shoes on Hot Tarmac

The Tasting Note as a form of wine critique is not new. It was around long before Michael Broadbent first published his detailed observations. He reputedly has over 90,000 of them in his famous notebooks. But Broadbent certainly established this concise … Continue reading →

Posted in Wine, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Video Killed the Radio Star

The New Year is a good time to reflect, a good time for manifestos too. At the back end of 2015 there seemed to be a lot of talk on two topics. First, we saw some negativity towards wine bloggers … Continue reading →

Posted in Wine, Wine Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bugey Wonderland

I remember a very long time ago playing a game when travelling around France. It involved trying wines which back then had almost never made their way over to the UK. Entraygues-et-du-Fel, Crépy, Irouléguy, Ripaille, Saint-Pourçain or Aprémont, for example. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sparkling Wine, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chop Chop – Post Haisma/Le Grappin Lunch

Nine winoholics, or at least that’s how one sometimes feels in failing to follow the “Dry January” dictat,  had a table booked at Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road for a post-Vinoteca tasting lunch (it is work, you know). As … Continue reading →

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Off to See the Wizards of Oz(gundy)

It’s that time of year again, and despite telling you in my last post that I wasn’t going to join the wall to wall wallpaper of 2014 Burgundy Primeurs Week, you know that when it comes to the annual Vinoteca … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgundy, Rhone, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And Now For Something…

I rarely write about the wines I drink at home, but this week social media has been awash with one thing, Burgundy en primeur. Well, that’s not entirely true. Those lucky wine writers big enough to be invited to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Austrian Wine, Jura, Natural Wine, Wiener Gemischter Satz, Wieninger, Wine, Wine Tastings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Glasses – Should’ve Gone to Spec Savers

You’d have thought that the readers of the Daily Telegraph were as au fait as anyone with the appropriate stemware for Champagne. In an article on 27 December written by Camilla Turner, the author recommended flutes over the bad old coupe. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Wine, Wine and Food, Wine Glasses, Wine Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Happy New 2016!

This is the time when Bloggers habitually look back on the highlights of the year just gone, perhaps sprinkle a few resolutions, and above all single out the best of their festive drinking. I’ve had a very odd festive season … Continue reading →

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Bringing Sparkle to Christmas

The chances are that if you are reading this Blog you read a fair bit about wine, and if you do you have probably read something in the past few weeks about English sparkling wine. You may even have drunk … Continue reading →

Posted in English Wine, Sparkling Wine, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Small is Beautiful

Regular readers will know who I’ve been buying wine from in 2015, my favourite small merchants and wine shops. There is another group of people who maybe don’t get as much press, or coverage in social media, who are doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Austrian Wine, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon, Swiss Wine, Wine, Wine Agencies, Wine Heroes, Wine Merchants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments