So, the first week of the International Wine Challenge is over. I’ve had a nice weekend to recover (the poor team, however, have been busy all weekend sorting out the…
Kopke Colheita Ports back to 1941
Colheitas are single vintage Tawny Ports (that is, Ports that have been aged for a long time in large oak barrels, rather than bottled after a few years and aged…
Katsunuma Jyozo Misaka 2011, and amazing natural Japanese Koshu wine
Yesterday, one of the team of judges I was working with at the International Challenge was Youki Hirayama, who’s winemaker at Katsunuma Jyozo winery in the Yamanashi region of Japan….
Champagne Bruno Paillard at Sushisamba
Tuesday evening and it’s time for dinner at Sushisamba. My first visit to this much talked about restaurant, perched on the top of London’s second tallest building, Heron Tower in…
Four lovely wines at The Remedy: Hungary, Sicily, Germany, Spain
Had a lovely evening at The Remedy, one of London’s most interesting wine destinations. And, on Monday, a decent selection of wines at half price! Four memorable wines consumed. Pósta…
Day 1 of the International Wine Challenge
So yesterday was the first day of the International Wine Challenge. For the next two weeks I will be doing what most closely resembles a normal job: getting up early…
Do one thing well
The attention of the sporting world is focused on Augusta, Georgia at the moment. It’s the Masters, one of the four leading golf tournaments collectively known as the majors. Now…
Storm Pinot Noir ‘Vrede’ 2012, a new star from South Africa
Hannes Storm was, for a decade, winemaker at Hamilton Russell, until he left in 2014 to do his own thing. Well, this is the first chance I’ve had to try…
Tscheppe Green Dragonfly Sauvignon Blanc, amazing Austrian wine
This is quite special. It’s a Sauvignon Blanc from Sudsteiermark (south Styria) in Austria, made by Andreas Tscheppe. He’s one of a group of five producers working biodynamically in this…