In June 2016 Andover Wine Friends were treated to a great line up of single varietal Syrah wines. It was fairly comprehensive (with apologies to N America) and showed what good wines are being made a range of price levels. We finished the evening with two older wines, one of them truly outstanding. I tasted
Grand Syrah tasting Read More »
The world of wine contains many surprises for the unwary. One rule of thumb is that as vineyard altitude rises, the average temperatures drop (0.6º C per 100m is the standard figure) and the resulting wine styles become fresher and more acidic. But Napa is different in this regard. As any wine student will know the
Napa stands on its head Read More »
Sergio Mottura knows how to tell a yarn. Â His account of how he took the unregarded Grechetto grape variety and turned into into a prize-winning, oak-aged, ageable wine is laced with equal proportions of commitment to the variety, ambition for the wine and a certain disregard for precision when it comes to technical terms. Â His
Eating out in Verona during Vinitaly is a bit of a challenge. 50,000 visitors descend on a small city already quite full of young tourists, all wanting to eat out, all wanting to drink something special. Our solution is to cross the Adige river which encloses the historic centre and walk to Veronetta, just beyond the
Drinking Quintarelli’s legendary Valpolicella in Verona Read More »
It was great to see lots of happy tasters at yesterday’s ’12 reds tasting’ at Andover Wine Friends. Thanks for being so game with the blind tasting and for all the food that people brought, making for a good evening.  If you were at the tasting, you will remember that there were a number
Cabernet escapes its prison Read More »
This week has been Chardonnay week in our household with tastings on consecutive nights of 3-4 samples. Interestingly the ’round the world’ flights have proved easier than the Burgundian ones. Most challenging was Grand Cru Chablis v Premier Cru Chablis v Chablis v cool climate Australia: I would have believed you if you had said
Our visit to Yalumba, one of South Australia’s historic wineries, was very much a game of two halves. First a tasting in one of the cunningly reconditioned 175,000-litre fermentation tanks, itself something of a first, then a drive to Pewsey Vale. The tasting was a quick spin around the remarkable range of styles the company
Pewsey Vale: Riesling heaven Read More »
Felton Road, famous for its Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Rieslings, was the last stop on our Family of Twelve visit to New Zealand. They will be used to either being the first or last stop on any tour as they have the joy of being located in Bannockburn, Central Otago, the best part of 20,000
Postcard from Felton Road Read More »
Our visit to Pegasus Bay, 45 minutes north of Christchurch, was special in many ways. Here to celebrate it is a photoblog with commentary. The enterprise which became Pegasus Bay started in the garage of the house in Christchurch, in which the Donaldsons still live, as a hobby. But it was a serious hobby
Postcard from Pegasus Bay Read More »
Tim and Judy of Neudorf Vineyards are another of the Family of Twelve’s Kiwi winegrower pioneers. As such, in the early days there was a good deal of trial and error, a spirit of adventure which has continued to stand them well. Neudorf is a step apart – coming here from Marlborough it does feel you
Postcard from Neudorf Read More »