Early drinking
August 5, 2014
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m beginning to miss the huge off-licence chains we had in the UK 10 years ago. Not that their ranges were that…
St Péray: Cut from a different cloth
July 22, 2014
St Péray on the left; Cornas on the right A quick intro to the wines of St Péray... Like a beauty pageant, the major wine regions of France try on many different…
Madiran: Blood reds
July 8, 2014
The vineyards of Madiran are hidden away in the foothills of the Pyrenees in Gascony. They stretch along four jagged ridges that creep northwards from the mountains towards Bordeaux…
Newcomers on the scene
June 24, 2014
They wouldn’t have got past the elevator pitch in Dragons’ Den. “So you want to sell premium Austrian wines from a transport container in the East End of London?”…
Tavel: Don’t judge a wine by its colour
June 10, 2014
A quick intro to the wines of Tavel... Of all the colours of the rainbow, the colour pink has some unfortunate connotations. Often associated with cupcake icing and little girls’…
Chapoutier’s class of 2013
May 27, 2014
If the majority of the press surrounding the 2013 vintage in Bordeaux is to be believed, most en primeur samples should have been gathered up, put in a sack and…
Gascogne: Of coops and co-ops
May 13, 2014
A quick intro to the wines of Gascogne... The Côtes de Gascogne, south of Bordeaux, is a sprawling region. There are no main roads, so it’s easy to get lost; this really is La France…
Madeira quake
May 1, 2014
I always find it strange how fortified wines – Sherry, Port and Madeira – are so often portrayed as drinks for vicars and old ladies. The reality is these are drinks for…
Digging Graves
April 15, 2014
A quick intro to Graves... Every year, the two titans of Bordeaux – the Left Bank and Right Bank – lock swords in a battle for supremacy. Observing from the sidelines to the south is Graves, the gritty third wine region of Bordeaux, nonchalantly whittling a stick with its Swiss army knife. A less glamorous choice of blade for sure; but far more versatile. Bordeaux is world-renowned for its reds.…
Spend less, drink better
April 1, 2014
The UK is a nation of bargain hunters. There are more pound shops on Britain’s high streets than bookstores. When it comes to wine we’re no different; most of what we buy…