I have just written up Thursday night’s tasting of cult Californian wines. It was an eye-opener. One wine in particular polarized option. For me it was the worst wine of…
Nice wines at the Portuguese wine awards dinner
Last night was the Portuguese wine awards dinner at the Ambassador’s residence. It’s an annual event, now in its eighth edition, and is organized by the Association of Portuguese Wine…
Why are tasting notes so bad? Can anything be done?
Just been browsing the tasting notes on a well known wine website (I will spare the name; I don’t want to be mean to this fine publication, because the problem…
A day in Madrid. Only just.
Just spent the day in Madrid judging the malolactic wine awards. Now this may seem a little technical and unusual, but it’s a contest for red wines from Spain and…
Three good Italian reds
Italy deserves more of my attention. Here are three proper wines with personality and balance, and all attractively priced. Accademia Dei Racemi Segna Vento Tarantino Primitivo 2010 Italy 13% alcohol….
An English Pinot Noir from Chapel Down
English fizz is getting a lot of attention. What about the table wines, or still wines, or whatever you want to call them? Here’s a Pinot Noir that’s actually incredibly…
How we approach wine alters our perception
Most readers will be familiar with the picture of the old hag/beautiful woman. It’s a simple drawing in black and white, but whether you see a young woman or a…
The remarkable F series wines from Framingham
I recently had the chance to try a series of utterly remarkable New Zealand wines. They’re from Framingham in Marlborough, a producer whose points of difference are that they are…
So will first growth Margaux soon be using screwcaps?
In short, no. I have just written up Tuesday’s presentation and tasting on the results from research carried out by Bordeaux first growth Chateau Margaux. This was presented by Paul…