Cramele Recas is a large winery in Romania well known for its astutely made commercial wines. Last year they began making an affordable orange wine, and this, the second vintage,…
Two natural Italian wines from The English Winemaker
These two wines are made by Matt Gregory, wine merchant turned winemaker who has adopted the name ‘The English Winemaker’. I met him in Christchurch last year when I was…
A clichéd natural wine producer review
I love natural wine (well, whatever that is…), but as with any style of wine there’s good and there’s bad and then there’s some stuff in the middle. So, here…
The First Date natural wine bar pop-up at Cupple Coffee, Hastings, NZ
On Saturday night, travelling companions Mel Brown, David Brookes and I popped into a natural wine bar pop-up First Date at Cupple Coffee in Hastings, Hawkes Bay. This was billed…
Alternative Bordeaux (5) natural wine at Château Peybonhomme, Côtes de Blaye
The Hubert family are sixth-generation vignerons based in Cars, near Blaye. The family arrived at Château Peybonhomme-Les-Tours, which is on a small hill overlooking the Gironde estuary. Sister and brother…
New York Wines (14) Nathan Kendall, Chëpika and Hickory Hollow, Finger Lakes
Nathan Kendall is one of the bright lights of the Finger Lakes wine scene. He’s winemaker at Hickory Hollow winery, but also makes wine under his own name. And he’s…
Two lovely Syrahs from Dard & Ribo
Dard & Ribo are one of the top producers of the Northern Rhône, but unless you hang in natural wine circles you probably won’t have heard of them. The hallmark…
34 hours in New York, eating and drinking well, part 1
After exploring the Finger Lakes and Long Island wine regions, Christina Rasmussen and I had just a short time in the city of New York before heading back to the…
Some natural wines with the Grape Witches
A few weeks ago I was invited to host a tasting of natural/authentic wine in Toronto with Nicole and Krysta, the Grape Witches. It was for local somms and trade…