Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
Posts on the wines of New Zealand
As a small, gastronomic, diversion from the wines of Piemonte, I am marking the end of an era with the imminent closure of The Harrow, Little Bedwyn. For the last 21 years Roger and Sue Jones have run this brilliant and civilised restaurant with a great cellar. For many of those years it had a
Farewell to The Harrow, Little Bedwyn Read More »
I have only recently come to realise how much I love Syrah as a wine. It has now joined my personal pantheon of Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese (and quite a few other tannic Italian varieties) and the very best examples of Chardonnay, roughly in that order. These are the varieties I want to cellar
Syrah spectacular Read More »
In my last post Mineral muddle, I wrote about Alex Maltman’s new book on geology, soils and the vine. His main concerns are geology and soils. But along the way, he explains how a vine gets the nutrients it needs. Reading this book reminded me that these basic processes are rarely explained outside of scientific circles.
How does a vine gets the nutrients it needs? Read More »
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 »
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 »
We had two bites of the cherry in our visits to Villa Maria, appropriately enough given the scale of its operations. A pretty comprehensive tasting of its wines at the Auckland HQ was followed by a whistle-stop tour of the Marlborough with senior winemaker Helen Morrison as expert guide. Here are some highlights: in a
Winemaking at Villa Maria Read More »
From afar most wine lovers will think of Marlborough as a single region. After all, the most common style of Sauvignon Blanc is so distinctive and powerful that the complications of terroir are a long way from the consumer’s mind. But the pleasure of visiting is that you begin to appreciate the differences between the
Postcard from Lawson’s Dry Hills Read More »
