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 »
For the second time in a row, we decided to postpone a planned blind tasting on the theme of sparkling wine. While last time the excuse was that it was late July and people were away, this time it was because it was late August. Most of us are so keen on the sparkling wine
Andover Wine Friends unusually had a fine wine supper in August … and also, atypically, indulged in a bit of blind tasting masochism. Speaking for myself I normally enjoy the considerable challenge of blind tasting, even though it is a very artificial exercise. This is not just for the rare moments of triumph when you
Blind tasting masochism? Read More »
Janet and I have been meaning to go to L’Ortolan, the Michelin-starred restaurant near Reading, for longer than I can remember, a couple of decades perhaps. It sprang to fame as John Burton-Race’s place (long before celebrity beckoned) but today it is in the talented hands of Alan Murchison. Janet tried to book online for
Gravner’s orange wine at L’Ortolan Read More »
The summer of 2003 in the UK has gone down in the British collective memory as famously hot – to be compared to 1976. While Mediterranean Europe has had other hot summers recently, we have not and so the memory of 2003 has grown rather than receded. Janet and I remember house sitting in that
Caviste’s summer wines have been shown at a number of tastings, most memorably in the presence of a crested eagle – a Bateleur no less – at the Hawk Conservancy. The star of the show had to be woken for his early evening snooze in order to make his celebrity appearance but when he did
It is a great moment when a book is published which genuinely marks a substantive change in our knowledge. For decades, wine people have been dependent on Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson’s The world atlas of wine and the same team’s Oxford companion to wine as their basic reference books. Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand
Rare Italian varieties Read More »
The still wines of Piemonte region have something of a double reputation. On the one hand, bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco are among Italy’s greatest and most sought after wines. Some of them have a price tag to match. Then, on the other hand, there are inexpensive reds from less prestigious areas, made from higher-yielding
Artisan wines of Piemonte Read More »
Barbera, a grape variety common in Piemonte and in much of northern Italy, does not have much of a press. In the Langhe, where Nebbiolo reigns in the form of Barolo and Barbaresco, it was seen mainly as a short-term wine to drink while you waited, in the old days for 10 years, for your
February’s Bring a Bottle Club was off into unchartered territories … again. It was, however, the last time when we had some clues. The custom has been for each person to bring their bottle or bottles suitably shrouded but for all to know who has contributed each wine. This inevitably leads to inferences being made
Inferences true and false Read More »