Gevrey-Chambertin: Deep Burgundy

April 6, 2013

A brief introduction to the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy… With over 600 vineyards across 100 appellations, Burgundy can be a daunting region to explore. Especially when most vineyards are split between numerous producers – some lazy, some gifted. There’s no easy way in. Just choose one village at a time and taste a handful of its wines; then move on to the next. It will take a lifetime…

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Communion wine: forbidden fruit

March 21, 2013

If Jesus had chosen something other than the fruit of the vine for his followers to worship him with, today’s wine lovers might have a…

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Bottles of paradise

March 5, 2013

A brief introduction to the wines of Corsica... In Corsica, the regional wine is designated ‘Vin de Pays d’Île de Beauté’. Now a level of provincial pride is to be expected in France, but naming your region the ‘Island of Beauty’ takes some beating. But in reality it’s actually an understatement; Corsica is jaw-droppingly, heart-stoppingly ravishing. Travelling the unhurried narrow gauge railway…

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Everyday value? The best and worst of supermarket own label wines

February 20, 2013

Lined up against the wall in my hallway, they stood quietly like forlorn commuters queuing for a bus. These were not bottles to make a taster salivate. Why didn't I…

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Hermitage: Hidden Dragon

February 7, 2013

A brief introduction to the wines of Hermitage... Some of the most eminent winemaking villages of France also turn out to be the most beautiful. Tain l’Hermitage sadly isn’t one of them. Far from ugly, but fairly unremarkable, it crouches at the bottom of an imposing hill of granite that forces a bulge in the east bank of the Rhône. It’s located in the steep valley of the northern Rhône, before…

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Gaillac the Tortoise

January 22, 2013

Say the word ‘Gaillac’ and what does it conjure up? Not a lot. Florent Plageoles of leading estate Domaine Plageoles confirms “we have a big image…

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Champagne: the smallest stars shine the brightest

January 15, 2013

A brief introduction to the wines of Champagne... Most of us have a favourite Champagne, the label that raises a subtle smile when spotted in the lilting hand of our host. Champagne has a special place in the hearts of the British: we imported more than 34 million bottles last year, way more than any other country. Quite right too – when at its best, Champagne is still the greatest sparkling wine…

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Eleven Shades of Nebbiolo

January 8, 2013

To begin with I didn’t get it. Drinking Nebbiolo seemed like trying to swallow a cube, cut from a tree. It was hard, it was sharp, it was dry; and sometimes it tasted of…

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Thinking outside the shop

December 11, 2012

Some interesting things have been happening to the wine shop over the past few years. Evolutionary pressures appear to have pushed it into unexpected territory. Ten years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to buy your wine in a shop served by a 50-something-year-old man wearing at least one of the following: a bow tie, a freshly ironed apron and a faint air of disdain. Sure, such relics are still to be…

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Alsace: snow whites

December 4, 2012

Alsace has a split personality. Tucked behind the Vosges mountains in north eastern France, this region has been fought over with bordering Germany for centuries. It now feels like somewhere between the two. Pastel coloured timber frame buildings line the streets, giving villages a slightly surreal fairytale air. The local Alsatian dialect has more in common with Swiss German than French, and the…

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