On my recent Japanese trip I had a chance to visit two high-end artisanal sake breweries. It was really interesting, especially coming from a wine background, to see how sake…
Three from Melville, Santa Barbara County, California
Tried these three from Melville, in Sta Rita Hills (It’s no longer allowed to be Santa Rita Hills on the label, because of a complaint by a well known Chilean…
In my wandering, am I lost?
I woke in the middle of the night. This occasionally happens. When it does, my mind is frequently overactive. The dead of night is rarely the best time to think…
Highlights from Norman Hardie: some of Canada’s best wines yet
I’ve written extensively about Norman Hardie’s wines before. But on this recent trip I tried some of his wines that astonished me, and are really next-level. These have to be…
A few days of gastronomic overload in Montréal
I can’t believe it took me so long to visit Montréal. Canada’s second largest city (with a population of 2 million, but double that in the metropolitan area), it’s a…
Wines from Chapel Hill, McLaren Vale
I recently tasted through the range from McLaren Vale producer Chapel Hill, whose wines I hadn’t seen in a while. I was impressed. ‘The past 12 years have been a…
Day two at Norman Hardie, 2017 vintage
Winemaking is fascinating. Of course, it’s all about the grapes. Once a year you get to harvest them, and the quality of the grapes determines the quality potential of the…
Tasting Climate Change, in Montréal: the impact of warming on wine
Yesterday was the Tasting Climate Change conference https://www.tastingclimatechange.com/en/ , organized by Michelle Bouffard and held in Montréal, Canada. It was a half-day event looking at the impact of climate change…
Catching the tail end of vintage at Norman Hardie, Prince Edward County, Canada
After some fun in Montreal (more to come on this), I headed down to Prince Edward County to catch a couple of days of vintage at Norman Hardie (I was…