I’ve been embroiled in endless discussions about terroir in the past. And I mean endless. They quickly become unfocused, ideological and circular, with people talking at cross purposes. But it’s…
Wine writer buys wine! Shock! But which ones?
I had a case of wine delivered today. One that I paid for! Yes, occasionally we wine writers buy wine. Well, at least I do. Apart from anything else, a…
Video: the Nagano wine region, Japan
Here’s a brief video of my trip round the Nagano wine region: Overview: Japan’s wine scene Part 1, Kido Winery Part 2, Domaine Nakajima Part 3, Hyashi Nouen Part 4,…
Albariño series (2) Granbazán Etiqueta Ámbar 2016 Rías Baixas, Spain
The second wine in this series on Albariño, that wonderful grape from northwest Spain and Portugal, is another from Rias Baixas. This one is a bit of a surprise: I…
Gamay 38, Maison Dominique Piron Fleurie 2016
This is a lovely expression of Fleurie, from Dominique Piron. I visited him in 2016, and was really impressed by the consistency and nice terroir expression of the wines. He’s…
Nagano Wine Region: grand tasting and overall impressions
This was a chance to taste 28 of the leading wines from Nagano prefecture, which is one of the three main Japanese wine regions, and along with Hokkaido, is the…
Nagano wine region, Japan (10) – Shinshu Takayama Winery
The Takayama winery is an interesting project: it’s a collaboration between local vineyard owners (so in effect, a small co-op), with winemaker Eiichi Takano at the helm. He’s worked previously…
Nagano wine region, Japan (9) – Cantina Riezo
Yasuyuki Yumoto (above) is inspired by Italy. He has a lovely small winery and vineyard in the northern part of Nagano prefecture, and he decided that this would be a…
Nagano wine region, Japan (8) – Votano Wine
Tsubota Mitsuhiro (above) was inspired by Barolo to start making wine: that’s a good starting point, I guess. He began his vineyard in 2001, and now has 1.3 hectares on…