It was only a few weeks ago that I was one of the small international team judging the new South African Top 100 competition. It was a competition that begin…
Exciting new releases from Douro producer Conceito
Very impressed by these new releases from Rita Ferreira’s Conceito. They’re all really good. The Branco and Bastardo are probably my favourites, though. And the label design is just wonderfully…
A couple of affordable Rieslings: Germany and Alsace
It’s Riesling weather. Warm and spring-like. Here are two that I’ve recently enjoyed. Fritz’s Riesling 2009 Rheinhessen, Germany 11% alcohol. This is what Riesling needs to do to revive its…
City reach the FA Cup final!
A great day out today. My first visit to Wembley with City, and they won the cup semi-final against UTD. A superb game. No match report; just some pictures. My…
The end of the first week of judging, some proofs and an index
Just a brief post this evening. I’m tired, after a week’s enjoyable but thorough tasting at the IWC. Today was another good day, with another fun panel (above). From my…
IWC, day 4
I’m very tired after today’s tasting at the International Wine Challenge. RTL woke me up at 0330, and then again at 0400 – she was barking like a dog possessed,…
Beer: three BrewDogs
BrewDog (website here) is a provocative, creative and innovative brewery in Scotland, currently making some of the UK’s most interesting beers. I tried three of them, all available in Sainsbury’s….
Day 3 of the IWC – another good one
So, day 3 of the International Wine Challenge has come and gone. Today, the panel I was part of tasted 109 wines, which was a comfortable number. It’s important that…
Day 2 at the IWC – an enjoyable day of tasting
Day 2 of the International Wine Challenge has finished, and I’m beginning to get in the swing of things. Just as an athlete gets into shape through training, I reckon…