What do I like in Pinot Noir? I look for a few things in a great Pinot. First of all, that indefinable quality of elegance. I wish I could define…
A couple from Greywacke
Kevin Judd’s Greywacke wines are up there with the best from Marlborough, now New Zealand’s biggest wine region, and one that’s beginning to show a number of talents – not…
Lunch at Arbutus with Marimar Torres
Had lunch today with Marimar Torres and her daughter Cristina at Arbutus, in Soho. It was my first visit to Arbutus, and I loved the food, although the dining room…
Pinot Noir 2013: video and some thoughts in retrospect
Amid excessive travel and a few tight deadlines, I have steadily been writing up my notes from the Pinot Noir 2013 conference in Wellington, New Zealand this January. Over the…
Pinot Noirs from Torii Mor, Oregon
I visited Oregon back in 2008, and one of the wineries I had a look at was Torii Mor. Bid For Wine have managed to secure a stash of these…
The new California: dinner with Kutch and Sandhi
On Monday night I had dinner with two very interesting Californian producers: Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines, and Jamie Kutch of Kutch wines. It was hosted by Roberson Wine (www.robersonwine.com)…
Sam Neill’s keynote at Pinot Noir 2013
The second keynote at the recent Pinot Noir 2013 conference was given by actor Sam Neill, who has a vineyard – Two Paddocks – in Central Otago. This was a…
Making sense of Matt Kramer, Pinot Noir 2013 keynote
Pinot Noir kicked off with two contrasting keynote speeches, the first of which was delivered by Matt Kramer of the US publication The Wine Spectator, and author of a string…
New Zealand, day 2, Pegasus Bay in the Waipara
There’s a great story behind Waipara winery Pegasus Bay, which was the second visit of my New Zealand tour. Back in 1976, Christchurch neurologist Ivan Donaldson had caught the wine…