The UK is the biggest export market for Champagne, second only to, if much smaller than, the big home market. Of course, the big brands will make up much of the export numbers. Champagne is an expensive purchase and most people are going to buy something they have heard of before. But in many ways,
Growers’ champagne in the UK Read More »
Saturday’s Andover Wine Friends’ fine wine supper was based on a six-bottle case sold by the Wine Society as ‘World Class Pinot Noir’. The marketing worked perfectly – I duly bought the case and we enjoyed the wines. It was very good value at just under £140. But ‘world class’? I don’t think so. In
Pinot Noir – home and away Read More »
I am delighted and rather surprised to be awarded the WSET/Champagne Board’s 2013 Champagne scholarship as part of my WSET Diploma studies. Part of the surprise was that I did not know that the Wine and Spirit Education Trust gave scholarships, so I was a long way back when the scholarship secretary rang me to
Champagne scholarship 2013 Read More »
Andover Wine Friends’ March tasting was designed to have some fun while tasting a range of sparkling wines blind. It certainly achieved the first aim. The blind tasting part showed some the difficulties of this game all too clearly: 1. Sparkling pink wines don’t give a lot away Apart from an occasional difference in colour
Sparkling wine in the dark Read More »
Saturday night’s Andover Wine Friends’ Fine Wine supper was remarkable by any standard, the main act being eight wines from Bordeaux from four vintages in the 1970s. The first thing to celebrate was the friendship and generosity of those who love wine. The eight wines all came from the cellar of one of our number
1970s Claret – old friends reunited Read More »
2003 – the season Everyone knows that 2003 was an exceptionally hot year in Europe. Janet and I spent a small part of that summer working in the large garden of friends and found ourselves having to adopt habits more typical of Mediterranean countries – get up early and work outside until late morning, have
The four colours of 2003 Dom Perignon Read More »
One birthday at the Overton blind tasting group, marked by the last of three bottles of a special wine. Lively, bubbles, youngish tasting bright fruit, mild nuttiness, noticeable acidity, balanced and attractive – but not really giving its origins away. One member in the group in the trade thought it was very, very good Cava
Birthday bubbles, streams of Syrah Read More »
Asking the owner of an independent wine shop to choose just six wines to show off his wines is definitely mission impossible. If the shop is a creation of one person, he or she has spent hundreds of hours and selfless tasted probably thousands of wines to pick the stock … and then they have
Mission impossible Read More »
Veuve Clicquot launched their two 2004 vintages wines – white and rosé – with an interesting comparison. What is the effect of bottling these wines in a normal bottle size, a magnum and a jeroboam? Apart from making a very pretty picture, the answer in a wine of this quality is that there is a
We have been enjoying a number of parties to launch our new garden/tasting room at home. It replaces a plastic conservatory and is proving a real joy – opening up the entire ground floor of the house, giving lovely views into the garden and creating lots of space. And of course, we have an excuse
Twins and triplets Read More »