Back in 1981, when the Cape Winemakers’ Guild was first formed, the South African wine scene was very different to how it is today. One of the founder members of…
On happiness
On happiness. Some thoughts prompted by someone asking me how they could be happier, when they were feeling miserable. Are you happy? Happiness is something we all strive for. But…
Champagne Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2008
This is the new Vintage cuvée from Veuve Clicquot, and it’s really good. It’s a fresh, quite complex wine with lovely focus. This is the first vintage made by current…
Gamay focus 21, Bass Phillip Gamay 2014, Gippsland, Australia
There isn’t a lot of Gamay in Australia, but there are two or three examples that get written up very highly by the critics. This is one of them: the…
Video: the 2016 VDP Grosses Gewächs tasting in Wiesbaden
On Wednesday I was in Wiesbaden, Germany, for a very special tasting. It was the 2016 Grosses Gewächs tasting, featuring new releases from some of Germany’s top wine estates, all…
Von Buhl: an estate reborn, with incredible Rieslings from the Pfalz
Today I visited Riechsrat von Buhl. This was once on the the great wine estates not just of Germany, but in the world. Over the years, bits of the estate…
Falling in love with German wine
So I have been in Germany for six days now (including the arrival day, and today which has just started, which makes four days of visiting and tasting). This has…
On power and charging
Over the last decade there has been a massive societal change. Back in 2006, most of us didn’t have smartphones (the first iPhone was released in June 2007). We had…
A tasting of organic wines from the Rheinhessen, Germany
The Rheinhessen is Germany’s largest wine region. With more than 26 000 hectares under vine, it’s responsible for more than a quarter of the country’s vineyard area, although the Pfalz…