I was at a tasting recently, when a colleague whose opinion I respect asked me what I thought of a particular wine. He’d given it a score of 58/100. It…
La Roncaia Eclisse 2011 a brilliant Sauvignon from Friuli
This is a new wine for me, and I’m glad that I discovered it. It’s from Friuli, near the Slovenian border, and it’s a blend of mostly Sauvignon Blanc with…
Jamsheed Garden Gully Riesling
I love Jamsheed. One of my favourite Australian producers. This Riesling has just a hint of sweetness but it finishes quite dry. It’s a serious effort, and a good bet…
A brilliant, affordable Portuguese white wine
I really like this Portuguese white. It’s a blend of Arinto, Gouveio and Fernao Pires from the coastal bit of the Lisboa region, and from fossil-rich clay/limestone soils. The vineyard…
Tasting versus drinking, again
I have a worry. It’s that wine critics are doing too much tasting and not enough drinking. The competition amongst the critics is becoming intense. As the Robert Parker era…
A quick comparative Pinot Noir tasting (and drinking)
So tonight, I have four Pinot Noirs open. A chance to do some comparative tasting. I love Pinot Noir. It’s such a great grape variety. So, for me, this is…
Wine on television
Wine industry commentator Robert Joseph has recently written about wine on television. The reason we don’t have much wine on TV, he asserts, is because wine isn’t interesting as a subjectfor…
At the Feria Vinos de Lujo, Santiago
Last night I headed over to the Grand Hyatt in Santiago for a remarkable wine festival. It was fortunate that of the two nights I was in town, one should…
In Santiago, day 2, sunshine and lighter style wines
A cork oak (above) So this morning was a conference on lighter-style lower alcohol wines here in Santiago, for the Chilean wine industry. I was one of the speakers. This…