I picked this up from the excellent Good Wine Shop in Chiswick – it’s a Savagnin from Brendon and Kirstyn Keys that spends a month on the skins before going…
Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Terroirs 2016
I had a night off in Buenos Aires after a long day trip to Mar del Plata. So I bought a bottle of this. It proved to be a good…
In Argentina (1) visiting the El Esteco winery in Cafayate
There’s something different about Argentina’s Calchaqui Valley. It’s the most northerly of the wine regions in Argentina, and it’s the highest. The light is a little clearer – startling, even….
Thistledown The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache
Giles Cooke at Alliance wine is the dude behind this wine from Thistledown, which is a really beautiful expression of old vine McLaren Vale Grenache. It’s not showy, but just…
Black Chalk Classic 2015, a serious English sparkling wine
I’ve tried Jacob Leadley’s Black Chalk sparkling wines a few times now, and I’ve been really impressed. On this latest showing, I reckon this is one of the best UK…
Video: visiting Masi, masters of appassimento
Masi are one of the leading wine producers in the Veneto region of northern Italy. They are specialists in appassimento, the process of drying freshly harvested grapes on racks for…
Visiting one of Europe’s first commercial tea plantations in Portugal
A few weeks ago I was in Porto, and I joined fellow journalist Treve Ring to visit one of Europe’s first commercial tea plantations. It’s from Nina Gruntkowski and Dirk…
Seven German Pinot Noirs
German Pinot Noir (known locally as Spätburgunder) can be quite wonderful, and of late seems to have been getting better. But Pinot is a tricky grape and it’s sensitive to…
The fab Ensedune Malbec from Foncalieu, alongside a couple from Argentina
Foncalieu is a Languedoc-based coop with 650 member growers and has a turnover of €54 million. For the region, its production mix is unusually weighted towards white and rosé (both…