The wines of Piemonte/Piedmont
After the exhilaration of hearing that the Classic Wine Library has agreed to publish my book on The Wines of Piemonte, what’s next? First, just revel in that sentence! And then over the next months and years, I can focus on one great Italian region and get into it in real depth. There is always a
Diary of a wine writer 4: what’s next? Read More »
In my last post, I reported that Piemonte won the race over Tuscany and Campania/ Basilicata. But can I persuade a publisher that this is a good subject … and that I am the person to write the book? I am a fan of the Classic Wine Library. It was founded 50 years ago and
Diary of a wine writer 3: cue celebration! Read More »
As I explained in my last blog post, I have now completed my wine studies and have decided I would like to write a book. This is probably going to mean choosing between Italian regions. But what is the subject going to be? Readers of this website will know that I have devoted much of
Diary of a wine writer 2: choices Read More »
We are all used now to days which celebrate or draw our attention to something important or special. Apparently this is National School Meals awareness week and Men’s health awareness month. (Are men that stupid that they need a whole month to get to grips with things that might trouble them – well, probably.) But
Barolo Vigna La Rosa – beautiful name apart – is a single vineyard on the Fontanafredda estate in Serralunga d’Alba within the Barolo DOCG. Since 1998 the estate has been owned by the Farinetti family of Eataly fame, purveyors of Italian gastronomic products around the world. The estate became fully organic in 2007 and
Barolo Vigna La Rosa Read More »
My birthday offered the chance to taste a range of vintages of Nebbiolo-based wines with some wine-loving friends. All the examples were from the Barolo or Barbaresco. How do these potentially majestic wines develop? When or do the tannins begin to soften? How easy or difficult is it to judge the vintage of a wine
Nebbiolo vintages Read More »
My recent post trumpeted my last-minute preparation for the MW tasting exams. I have now done the exams, the list of wines have been published but we are still some months off knowing the results. It is now time to reflect on the experience of things that go right in the exam and, sadly more interestingly,
Things that can go wrong … in the MW tasting exam Read More »
MW exams loom. What does the MW student do in the final week before re-sitting the tasting exam? Three papers of two hours and 15 minutes each, 36 wines in total to be discussed in detail, all served blind. The task is to discuss their origin, the varieties they are made from, how they were made,
Final week before MW exams Read More »
I love writing pieces for this website but just occasionally it is good to have another voice, somebody else takes on a tasting. So here is the view of Tim Pierce, owner of GrapeExpectations, on the giro d’Italia which I led with his wines. It was a real pleasure to be in Longparish, just outside
Longparish’s Italian tour Read More »
