This Autumn I had the pleasure of visiting Rioja (and other northern Spanish regions) for the first time around the European Wine Bloggers Conference, Logroño. In addition to the people, the wine and the food it was a photographer’s delight. Return to World homepage
Sometimes a picture (or two) are worth a thousand words. At the recent Institute of Masters of Wine annual Claret tasting the ‘helpers’ all got a turn to pour on the First Growths table. In a vintage like 2009 this was a straightforward pleasure. Although massively concentrated and youthful, this year produced wines with so
Pouring first growths Read More »
It’s tough being Chardonnay – on the one hand, you are so popular that you have become a girl’s name; on the other hand, people have tired of you and have moved on to Pinot Grigio and even Moscato. But once you get into quality wines, the real appeal of the grape to the drinker
Chameleon Chardonnay Read More »
There is a random element to Overton’s blind tasting group – the wines that is, not the people to whom I could devote many pages on this blog! The idea is that each of us, 6-12 people, bring an impressive bottle which we taste without knowing what it is. Inevitably that means that sometimes, actually
South America disappoints Read More »
The world of wine continues to expand … or should that be that our knowledge struggles to keep up with what is out there? I am happy to admit that before this week’s Vina Croatia tasting in London my knowledge of Croatian wine was just about zero. I did know that what is now regarded
Discovering Croatia Read More »
In the 1970s my parents were in the habit of eating out on a Sunday evening on a regular basis. I guess it was a sort of brief respite in the lives of two busy doctors. They were not great wine drinkers but like many of their generation, they would routinely drink a bottle of
The old and the new Germany Read More »
Our regular blind tasting group teetered between concentrated attention on some fine, puzzling wines and outright hilarity. Prizes for the best sayings of the evening must go to Rob who described typical north European Rieslings as having ‘psychopathic flintiness’ and to Stafford who, among the reportable bot mots, claimed that a pint of real ale
Blind tasting – a laugh a minute? Read More »
The idea of the ‘second wine of an estate appears to have started in Bordeaux with its large estates and volumes of wine. The very best grapes (hopefully from a good majority of the estate’s vineyards) will go into the grand vin leaving the producer with a problem with the remnant. If this was put
More than a hint of greatness? Read More »
The much anticipated, much postponed BBC (‘bring a bottle club’) on the theme of sparkling wine finally took place in September, having been chosen as a theme for birthdays in July and August. It proved very instructive with one prejudice being confirmed and a couple of others weakened. In terms of blind tasting it does
Champagne still sparkles Read More »
A volume producer who makes interesting, even classy, wines is a real rarity. It is really difficult to be consistently good when handling large volumes of fruit from different locations with slightly varying picking dates and levels of maturity. Blending volumes tends to bring the quality down to the lowest common factor. Andover Wine Friends’
Cool coastal Californians Read More »