Are flavoured wines the solution at the bottom end of the market? Victoria Moore’s wine column focused this week on the phenomenon of flavoured wines. Apparently, they are on the…
Five eclectic wines at the DIAM Rioja conference
Today I gave a talk on social media and the wine industry at a conference in Logrono (Rioja) organized by DIAM, the closure company. Also speaking was José Penin, author…
Some thoughts on Hedonism Wines
I visited Hedonism Wines for the first time today. You can see a report, mostly pictorial, on my visit here. Some thoughts: It is an amazing retail space. Beautifully planned…
In Bulgaria, judging wines of the Balkans
I am currently in Sofia, Bulgaria, where I am judging the Balkans International Wine Competition, along with a merry band of excellent judges from different Balkan countries, plus three of us…
On soils and wines, part 6 – water relations and wine quality, plus a bit about clays
So, the next instalment in my exploration of the importance of soils for wine. This is really thinking aloud, so I’d love to hear comments and corrections. One of the…
Some top wines from Israel
I’m on my way home after a just a couple of great days exploring the wines of Israel. So here are my notes on an assorted collection of 16 different wines,…
Dinner at La Trouvaille in Blos, with interesting Loire wines
On Friday night, I had dinner at La Trouvaillle in Blois. By its decor, this doesn’t seem a terribly high-end restaurant, but the food is really good and the wine list adventurous….
The mystery of soils and wines, part 3
In parts 1 and 2 of this exploration of soils and wines, I looked at the issue of minerality. Do soils influence wines directly by means of root uptake of…
Savage Wines, a new star in the South African wine scene
I’ve got to know Duncan Savage a bit over the last few years. He’s the winemaker at Cape Point wines, where he has been doing superb work for quite a…