I’m sitting in the infowine forum here in Vila Real, Portugal. Steve Charters (pictured) is talking – he’s discussing marketing wine to generation Y. It’s really interesting: these are the…
Brothers in Arms: big, bold and lovely
Really like this wine, despite its monstrous alcohol level (15.5% alcohol). It’s really well put together from some very decent fruit. Brothers in Arms No 6 Shiraz Cabernet 2005 Langhorne…
In Portugal, again
A quick post from the road. I am back in Portugal, for the infowine forum, where later today I will be delivering a talk on the prospects for Portuguese wines…
Jean-Claude Mas is a genius
I’m just so impressed by the wines of Jean-Claude Mas, from France’s Languedoc. Five of his wines were in yesterday’s Asda Press tasting, and they were all brilliant – he…
Crown cap liners for beer
A question. Why is it that the beer industry is happy to use crown caps with PVC liners for bottled beers? These PVC liners allow a high level of oxygen…
Some nice beer, including a trashy blonde
Popped into Oddbins on the way home this evening. Nice selection of wines, these days. Lots interested me. Came out with three beers, though. Was particularly interested to try the…
Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling
One of the Rieslings tasted on camera in my recent video clip, this is the well known Aussie, Steingarten, which now goes under the Jacob’s Creek label. Steingarten is not…
A convincing Aussie Sangiovese – Greenstone
Italian red grape varieties all seem to travel poorly. While they achieve good results in Italy, they seldom work abroad. Here’s an exception: possibly the best non-Italian Sangiovese I have…
Summer arrives, and a great day’s cricket
A fantastic day today. A cricket match. This time, not the wine trade, but a church match, between two Twickenham based Anglican congregations. One large, one smaller. I was playing…