A great lunch. One of the best. It was hosted by Keith Prothero at the wonderful La Trompette in Chiswick. Keith (astonishingly generously) provided the wines, which we tasted blind,…
Judging in the Concours Mondial Sauvignon Blanc
I’m just back from a few days in the Loire, where I was part of a large international jury judging the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon competition. We stayed in Blois, and…
The international wine challenge begins, and some nice beer, too
So the International Wine Challenge has begun. As a panel chair, I’m signed up for all two weeks of judging. I really enjoy it, working with a different panel each…
Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 1997
This MCC (Methode Cap Classique, a term used for traditional method sparkling wines from South Africa) deserves a post of its own. It’s 15 years old (almost 16) and it’s…
In South Africa, day 4, heaven on earth
My day spent in Hemel en Aarde (heaven and earth) is one that I’ll remember for a long time. I can’t recall a day spent in wine country with so…
Some Portuguese wine people
Snapped today at the wonderful wines of Portugal tasting in London, some top Portuguese wine talent. Filipa Pato, who makes great wines from Bairrada, white and red. Pedro Araujo of…
A new Spanish producer, and quite a discovery
In Madrid today at lunch I was sitting next to David Gonzalez, who together with three friends has started a new winery in the DO of Arlanza. It’s a region…
A perfect wine list, what’s yours?
A question. What would your perfect wine list look like? If you were to go into a restaurant and pick up the wine list, what – in an ideal world…
An amazing Sauvignon Blanc tasting
As part of the recent launch of Brancott Estate’s Chosen Rows Sauvignon, we were treated to an amazing tasting of top Sauvignon Blancs from around the world. You can read…