Over the last 15 years Sylvain Pataille has built up his domaine from scratch. He first made wine in 1999, while he was still employed in an enology laboratory in…
A Chenin Blanc seminar at Texsom
Patrick Cappiello and Pascaline Lepeltier presented this Chenin tasting at Texsom. ‘I deeply believe that Chenin is the best white grape in the world,’ says Pascaline, a very highly regarded…
Grower Champagne Focus: Selosse Initial
I really liked this Champagne. Selosse’s Initial. Thrilling. Champagne Jacques Selosse Initial Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV France This is the March 2013 disgorgement. It’s a thrillingly rich and…
The history of coffee: a seminar with Ian Picco
Coffee is interesting and I don’t know all that much about it. So it was really interesting to attend a seminar on the history of coffee at Texsom, presented by…
In Texas, for Texsom
I’m in Texas. First time for me. I’m here for Texsom, which is a really important conference in the north American wine scene. I’m here to conduct a 3 hour…
Rootstock (Sydney), a natural wine fair, focuses more on the vineyard in 2016
Late last year I had a lovely time attending Rootsock Sydney. It’s a lovely not-for-profit wine fair focusing on natural wines. One of the very best. I really enjoyed it,…
Dinner with Dan at Noble Rot: Raveneau, Lynch Bages and Dervieux Thaize
Had a lovely dinner with Dan Keeling at Noble Rot last night. The food was as good as ever, and the wines were just thrilling. I’ve rarely drunk as well,…
Wolf Blass Black Label Vertical, 1974-2012
This is the 50th year of Wolf Blass as a wine company, and it’s also the 40th vintage of the Wolf Blass Black Label. So winemaker Chris Hatcher was in…
Mother Rock and Force Majeure: brilliant wines from Stompie Meyer
Johan ‘Stompie’ Meyer is one of the most highly regarded of South Africa’s new wave winegrowers. He makes the wines for Mount Abora (as a consultant), and has his own…