Back in the day, when I was just getting into wine, the first ‘grower’ Champagne I encountered was Egly-Ouriet. This was in the mid-1990s, when grower Champagne wasn’t much of…
Domaine Ganevat Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes 2013
More Jura joy. There’s so much good stuff coming from this region, and it’s usually from producers taking a more natural approach. This was drunk last night looking out over…
Loire adventure: visiting the remarkable François Saint-Lô
The rain was easing as we arrived for an appointment with François Saint-Lô, but it was still a cold, damp day. Not ideal for tasting wine. There’s nothing fancy about…
Rui Falcao on Madeira, at MUST 2017
Rui Falcao’s presentation at MUST was on Madeira. He began by showing a picture of a bottle of Madeira from 1795, and revealed that most of his great old wine…
Eating and drinking well in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Just on my way out of Halifax, so I thought I’d report back on some of the eating and drinking options, most of which I visited more than once. It…
Fine cool climate Aussie wines from Frankland Estate
Head 250 km east of the Margaret River wine region in Western Australia, and you’ll hit the remote Frankland River region. With the coast quite a distance south, this is…
A night at Benjamin Bridge, Nova Scotia
The judging team from the National Wine Awards of Canada were hosted at Nova Scotian winery Benjamin Bridge last night. It was the best of maritime hospitality. Owner Gerry McConnell…
Loire adventure: Melaric, Saumur
It may have been May, but it felt like November as we arrived at Melaric in Saumur. It was cold, blustery and the rain beat down incessantly on the roof…
Some more observations on Nova Scotia wine
So, some more thoughts about Nova Scotia wine. Sparkling is the direction for the future here. There will always be a local market for the Tidal Bay whites, and similar…