A short film from a helicopter flight over the Central Otago wine region:
Video: gorging on paua and rock lobster in New Zealand
Here’s a film that should make you feel a little hungry. It’s of a memorable breakfast that I shared with some fellow wine writers (Oz Clarke, Tyson Stelzer and Joe…
Tasting versus drinking: does the trade get it wrong?
The wine trade tasting calendar starts in earnest tomorrow, and we’re entering a busy period, kicking off with far more 2009 Burgundy tastings than anyone can reasonably justify. If you…
Planeta’s first Mount Etna wine: the Carricante
Almost two years ago I visited Sicilian producer Planeta. One thing they talked about was their new project on Mount Etna, which has some really interesting terroirs. At this stage,…
Video: Veranda’s vineyards in Chile’s Bio Bio
A short film of the Veranda vineyards in Bio Bio, a cool climate region in the south of Chile. These include a couple of really remarkable new Pinot Noir vineyards….
Portuguese wines at half price
Just a quick alert. Online retailer of Portuguese wines Castas are having a half-price sale of some rather good Portuguese wines, and unlike most ‘half-price’ sales, this is a genuine…
Wine writers: making money on the internet?
Faced with loss of column inches (and sometimes even columns), many of my winewriting peers are now looking to see how they can make money on the internet. Of course,…
Some Chenin!
I’m trying hard to get my head around Chenin Blanc, but it’s a difficult grape to understand. What does Chenin taste like? Very hard to answer. Here are three good…
Two nice supermarket Northern Rhone Syrahs
It’s not often I recommend French wines stocked by UK supermarkets, because the buying is rarely that inspired. Most decent French stuff simply doesn’t fit with the requirements of the…