winefriend.org
Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
It is over two months since my last post and time has flown. We have been in the peculiar UK version of Covid-19 lockdown (‘we would appreciate it so much if you would please stay indoors etc’), work at the WSET has been busy, this website is getting a major update and, of course, there
With the Covid-19 crisis in full swing, we are all becoming expert at video conferencing. The new nightmare scenario would be to have simultaneous calls on Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a family call on Whatsapp! But this week I did have a conversation of over an hour with Andrea Sottimano via Zoom. The wifi in
When I started this diary of a wine writer, I, of course, had no idea that this project was going to be impacted by a worldwide event. Back in October, Coronavirus was definitely not in the news. Even when I was in Alba in late January it was still something happening in faraway China, or
As a small, gastronomic, diversion from the wines of Piemonte, I am marking the end of an era with the imminent closure of The Harrow, Little Bedwyn. For the last 21 years Roger and Sue Jones have run this brilliant and civilised restaurant with a great cellar. For many of those years it had a
Grandi Langhi ‘Diary of a Wine Writer’ has become ‘Diary’, rather simpler than DWW, an opaque acronym, if close to my initials. I have just returned from a first, exploratory visit to the Langhe, the most well-known wine area of Piemonte. The occasion was Grandi Langhe, a presentation to the trade of the new vintages
2019 turns into 2020 First of all, a heartfelt thank you to all who kindly responded to my announcement about The Wines of Piemonte. I have been really encouraged by all who took the trouble to respond to my news. It is such an exciting project for me … and I hope for followers of
