I’m spending a couple of days in Los Angeles in an urban winery, where my buddy Christina Rasmussen is doing vintage with Abe Schoener of the Scholium Project. Abe recently…
Lunch with Paillard, Solaia and Biondi-Santi
Had a nice lunch in the garden with Robin and Nikolai. I brought Champagne, and they stepped things up a notch with two famous Italians. Champagne Bruno Paillard Assemblage 2009…
Four stunning Swiss wines
We don’t see a lot of Swiss wine in the UK. But I did get to try these wines at a Swiss-focused evening at the excellent Newcomer Wines a while…
London restaurants (6) an amazing dinner at Brat with a Loire focus
Had a brilliant dinner at Brat last night. It was my first time, and it was one of the meals of the year. Our theme was Loire, and we brought…
Grower Champagne focus: Marie Courtin Résonance Extra Brut
Champagne Marie-Courtin Résonance Extra Brut NV (2014) France 12% alcohol. Dominique Moreau runs the estate – her grandmother was Marie-Courtin. It’s 2 ha in the Aube, and all of the…
Place of Changing Winds, a remarkable Pinot from the Macedon Ranges
Place of Changing Winds Clos de la Connerie 2017 Macedon Ranges, Australia This wine is made by Luke Lambert for Robert Walters (an importer – he’s the founder of Bibendum…
When is it acceptable to reject a wine in a restaurant? How to manage the ‘taste’
There has been a lot of chat on twitter about a food blogger who had a bad experience in a restaurant in Manchester. He began by ordering a bottle of…
Gezellig: a new London restaurant with a strong wine focus
Popped into new restaurant Gezellig yesterday. I’d heard a bit about it before, and it was pointed out to me by a few that this was an omission on my…
Interesting Marlborough: new releases from Corofin
This was a chance to taste through the 2016s from Mike Paterson’s impressive Corofin project (which I reviewed a while back). 2016 was a pretty good vintage, but the following…