Normally, Bolivia would be far to warm to make quality wines. But altitude changes things. This wine comes from the Tarija Valley in Bolivia, where the vineyards are at 1850…
Winemaking ideologies, my contribution to the Texsom debate
Yesterday at Texsom I took part in a discussion on winemaking ideologies, with a very good panel. Each of us was asked to prepare something to say, so I wrote…
Texsom: Germany’s finest – VDP Grosses Gewächs
This TexSom tasting focused on Grosses Gewächs: these are wines produced from top vineyard sites in Germany by members of a high-end producers club called the VDP, which began life…
Texsom: exploring the wines of Mexico
Serafin Alvarado and Wayne Belding presented this seminar on Mexican wines, a subject I’ve virtually no experience of. Mexico isn’t an obvious place to grow high quality wine grapes: it’s…
Texsom: S&M wines seminar
Not all wines are easy. There’s a stream of thought in the wine world that the wine industry should do better at giving ‘consumers’ what they want. We change wines…
Texsom: some Oregon whites
Today’s team lunch at Texsom featured Oregon wines. But no reds! This was a chance to look at some of Oregon’s whites, and also to branch out beyond the Willamette…
Loire adventure: Nicolas and Virginie Joly, Coulée de Serrant, Savennières
La Coulée de Serrant (Chateau de la Roche aux Moines) is a domaine with a narrow focus. It’s just whites. Just Chenin Blanc. Just dry wines. But it is this…
Some thoughts on Prosecco
Prosecco is one of the wine world’s success stories. I’m drinking one now. It’s the Bella Covina Prosecco from Tesco, which is as cheap as Prosecco gets at £5.85. Is…
Albariño series (1) – Eulogio Pomares Parcelarios (I) 2015, Rías Baixas
I’m beginning a series on Albariño, which is a white grape from north east Spain and Portugal (where it is known as Alvarinho). My mission over the next few months…