All sorts of things motivate wine drinkers – quality, rarity, price and, let’s be straightforward about it, palatable alcohol. If you can combine at least three of these, you are on to a winner. I haven’t done a proper search on the best relationship of quality to price for the wines I have tasted or
Best value bottle of the year? Read More »
British wine lovers have become very used to the appeal of the wines of Chile – excellent value, well made, fruit-driven wines. They are the products of a country which, with modern irrigation, has become a viticultural paradise and of large companies making wine in a highly professional manner. However, we rarely try Chile’s higher
La Parrina is a unique Tuscan wine estate near the border with Lazio. In general, terms is it on the Southern Tuscan coast now chiefly famous as a holiday destination. Each year millions of tourists, principally Italians, flock to enjoy the Italian seaside experience of closely packed togetherness on the beaches, in the restaurants, at
La Parrina – last stop in Tuscany Read More »
This weekend has given the chance to taste two bottles of Valpolicella Ripasso (you can add Classico Superiore if you wish). Most Valpolicella is made for quick and easy drinking and there is a huge jump up to Amarone, made from semi-dried grapes, and thus far weightier and hopefully more complex. In between is Ripasso.
Sancerre, Chablis and Champagne – the top glasses At the end of a wine tour, it’s good to stand back, review the experience as a whole and pick a few favourite glasses. There were 89 to choose from by my count. Of course one wouldn’t want to give the impression it was all tasting and
Coach travel is all very well. Within northern France from the UK, it is tolerable – quite fast, better ecologically than flying short distances, secure, uneventful. But it still takes quite a while to get from London (7.45 am) to Sancerre (6 pm French time), central France. The specialist wine travel company, Arblaster and Clarke,
Arriving at Sancerre Read More »
Masters of Wine probably don’t often buy wine in a supermarket, not even a rather well-stocked branch of LeClerc in France. But that’s exactly what Martin Hudson did to demonstrate the remarkable range of wines which are made along the length of the Loire valley. So while his last tasting for Andover Wine Friends featured
Whistle stop tour of the Loire Read More »
Hyde de Villaine is a joint venture between Californian grape growers Hyde with vineyards in Carneros and Aubert de Villaine. What’s all the fuss about? Well, de Villaine is a co-owner of Burgundy’s (and one of the world’s) most famous wineries, Domaine de la Romanée Conti, though it has to be said that this a
In a blind tasting, there is the occasional moment when you put your nose in the glass and know what the wine is. When I say ‘occasional moment’ that’s what it is. The rest is the application of experience to the aromas, flavours and styles of wine – and most of us just don’t have
Italy is blessed with a very large number of local grape varieties. One of the standard guides lists more than 500, others speak of thousands. More importantly, it has a significant number of great varieties – however much it’s fun to have something local, you still want it to make good wine or better. This
Italian half-marathon Read More »