Yesterday I went back to the building that I’d worked in for 15 years. It was for the Gonzalez Byass tasting, which was held at 41 Portland Place, an 18th…
B Vintners: an exciting ‘vine exploration’ winery from South Africa
B Vintners is a collaboration between cousins Gavin Bruwer and Bruwer Raats. They describe it as a ‘vine exploration company’, and the aim is to tell the story of the…
So just how good is English sparkling wine? A blind tasting
I took part in a brilliant tasting today, organized by Noble Rot magazine. Alas, there’s an embargo, so I can’t tell you the outcome or list the wines involved, but…
Lunch at Chez Bruce with some of South Africa’s finest, plus some old world stars
Had a special lunch at Chez Bruce last Thursday, with some memorable wines. Keith Prothero was hosting, and also present were Chris and Suzaan Alheit, Peter-Allan Finlayson, Chris Mullineux, John…
A delicious Koshu from Japan: Grace Kayagutake 2013
Koshu is a Japanese grape variety. It produces large bunches of pink-skinned grapes, which are used to make white wine. Often it’s quite neutral, but here’s one that has some…
South African fine wine comes of age
Yesterday was the New Wave South African tasting, held in a really cool venue under a vinyl shop in Soho. Rarely have I been to a tasting where the wines…
Some lovely affordable bottles from the Co-operative
Tasted at the Co-op press tasting on Tuesday. Some nice affordable wines, and one slightly pricier bottle. Trapiche Pure Malbec 2014 Uco valley, Mendoza, Argentina 14% alcohol. This unoaked Malbec…
On reading
If you are relatively smart, then the world can be an unhappy place, particularly during the teenage years. Smart people stick out. Many people are suspicious of smartness, if indeed…
Back to school, in a wine trade sort of way
The new term has started. After the excitement of Cape Wine (which I will not forget for a long time), it’s now back to the busy wine trade calendar. The…