A while back I went to my first ever chocolate tasting. It was held at the Winemakers Club under the arches at Farringdon, with Spencer Hyman of Cocoa Runners. The…
Stolpman Vineyards: Syrah and Roussanne from limestone soils in California
Website: Stolpman Vineyards Back in the 1970s, Tom Stolpman, who was then in his late teens, was running a valet car parking service in the Hollywood Hills to help him…
Provence Rosé: 24 leading examples tasted
I’m quite a fan of Provence rosé, which is one of the wine world’s big success stories. Quality has improved, and although it’s rare to find an example that stops…
Conceito Bastardo 2007 Douro, Portugal
A few years ago – back in November 2008 – I was judging wine in Porto. I met up with some Portuguese wine people for dinner, and ended up leaving…
Framingham Classic Riesling 2008 Marlborough, New Zealand
This is, I think, the last bottle of a batch of this wine that I bought very inexpensively a few years ago. This is the thing with Riesling: if you…
Testalonga Cortez El Bandito 2009 Swartland
I’m a big fan of Craig Hawkins’ Testalonga wines. They’re very brave and distinctive. He works pretty naturally, so the big question: how do they evolve? This one had evolved…
Kutch-Dury: the inaugural Chardonnay from Jamie Kutch is a stunner
I’m quite a fan of the wines of Jamie Kutch. This is the first release of his Chardonnay and he has completely nailed it. It will be hard to find,…
Fall From Grace: natural wines from McLaren Vale
Gill Gordon Smith is an ex Quantas flight attendant, who fell in love with wine. Now she has her own wine label, Fall From Grace, which she cells from a…
Does organic wine taste better? A study whose findings have been widely misinterpreted
Are organic wines better than conventional ones? An interesting study from researchers at the University of California Los Angeles suggests that they might well be. However, the difference in point…