Friday night saw the official start of the i4c (international cool climate chardonnay conference). This was titled ‘8 chefs, 8 grills’ and was held at Hillebrand winery in Niagara. The…
Two fantastic Chardonnays from Yabby Lake
Just tried these two brilliant Chardonnays from Tom Carson at Yabby Lake. Two more examples of the amazing revolution in Aussie Chardonnay that has taken place over the last few years….
Lunch at Arbutus with Marimar Torres
Had lunch today with Marimar Torres and her daughter Cristina at Arbutus, in Soho. It was my first visit to Arbutus, and I loved the food, although the dining room…
Day 3 in South Africa, and a slice of history
My third day in South Africa was a memorable one. A day on which I learned a great deal, and developed a healthy respect for the history of wine here. It…
Oakridge Lusatia Park Chardonnay 2011
I love this wine. It typifies what is happening with high-end Aussie Chardonnay at the moment – the embrace of elegance and freshness over weight and richness – picking earlier…
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…
The new California: dinner with Kutch and Sandhi
On Monday night I had dinner with two very interesting Californian producers: Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines, and Jamie Kutch of Kutch wines. It was hosted by Roberson Wine (www.robersonwine.com)…
In Auckland with Kumeu River
The final visit of my New Zealand adventure was at Kumeu River, a family-run estate a short drive from Auckland. This is close to where the New Zealand wine industry began in…
Greywacke Chardonnay 2010
Kiwi Chardonnay can be great. It is relatively neglected, but when it’s good, it’s really good, and this is one of the gooduns. It is from Greywacke, whose 2012 Sauvignon…