It has been a busy day. I was leading a team at the Sommelier Wine Awards in Vauxhall until 3.20 pm, and then I hot footed it along the…
Great lunchtime wines: Kumeu River and Raymond Lafon
Didn’t want to waste some fine white Burgundy samples that I opened, so headed over to brother-in-law Beavington’s house for some Sunday lunch today en famille. More on the Burgundies…
Pinot Noirs from Torii Mor, Oregon
I visited Oregon back in 2008, and one of the wineries I had a look at was Torii Mor. Bid For Wine have managed to secure a stash of these…
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…
A beautiful Viognier
When Viognier is good, it can be great. I remember first being introduced to the grape in the early 1990s. Then, it was quite rare, with a reputation for being…
Domaine Parigot Savigny Les Vergelesses, a lovely red Burgundy
Really impressed by this, a stylish red Burgundy that marries sweet fruit beautifully with a refined savoury dimension. This is something Burgundy does really well: non-fruit complexity. Domaine Parigot Savigny-Les-Beaune…
Three lovely wines: Burgundy, Martinborough and Tasmania
It was a beautiful pre-spring day today in London. I was doing some staff wine training for Hakkasan, the brilliant Chinese-inspired restaurant chain with two London outposts. The first session…
Two great, affordable Spanish reds
Two really good Spanish reds here, which I have tasted (and drunk) as part of my research in compiling a Top 100 reds under £10 feature. Spain has been particularly…
A great new wine publication, Noble Rot
A plug for a new wine magazine. Titled Noble Rot, it’s a bit counter-cultural and edgy (without being pretentious), with a good dollop of food and popular culture thrown in….