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Category: Uncategorized
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Question: What do marsala and beaujolais have in common? Answer: They both have a history of success followed by disaster and a fight for recovery. Also, in both cases, the disaster was self-inflicted by a race to the bottom. In the case of beaujolais, it took the form of beaujolais nouveau. It was a catchy…
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The annual Amarone Calling tasting was held last week at The Middle Temple, hosted as before by the UK Sommeliers Association. Amarone is a ‘wine of method’, a wine that owes more to what takes place in the winery than in the vineyard. In this case, the essential step is allowing the harvested grapes to…
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On Monday this week, the Cyprus High Commission in London hosted a walk around tasting of wines from Cyprus, with fourteen producers on show. In addition, Demetri Walters MW delivered two masterclasses, first whites and then reds. For the cognoscenti, Cyprus wine is full of interest. The island has a very long tradition of winemaking…
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A couple of days ago I took delivery of a bottle of Champagne for an upcoming tasting. It had an unusually short capsule which revealed the fill level, and this seemed rather low (see photo).Champagnes normally have a very long capsule; it may almost completely cover the neck, so the fill level is hidden. Reasons…
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In February, Decanter magazine published a review of Northern Rhône; the excellent 2010 vintage, the top wines from which are now ready to drink. This region produces reds from the Syrah grape and whites from Marsanne and Roussanne but mostly Viognier, a splash of which is sometimes cofermented with the Syrah to add perfume. The…
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Some time ago I started to write a blog post about the strange tendency of white grape varieties to start (like ‘vine’, ‘vino’ and ‘variety’) with the letter v. There are Viognier, Vermentino, Viura, Verdicchio, Vidal, Verdejo, Verdelho and others. That post never saw the light of day, but it came to mind when a…
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Once in a while, a country’s nascent wine business is thrust into the global spotlight by a single pivotal event. It happened when Michael Broadbent first tasted Lebanon’s Château Musar (1967 vintage) at the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair and declared it the discovery of the fair. Another example was David Hohnen planting Sauvignon Blanc in…
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Chinese wine has an image problem, much like English sparkling wine, and for pretty much the same reasons. One: great wine comes from the Old World. Oh, ok, some of it comes from the New World too. Which world is China in? And England? Not Old, not New, not Third. They are the heart of…
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I planted my little vineyard from nursery stock in spring 2014. I have one vine of each of: Seyval Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer; and the reds Dornfelder, Regent and Sankt Laurent. Last year saw the first crop, with all except the Sankt Laurent bearing fruit (2018 was the summer of the century so far for…
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Most articles about Balkan and Caucasian wine-producing countries focus on familiar themes, such as their long history of winemaking, proximity to the birthplace of wine, obscure and unpronounceable indigenous grape varieties, revival of ancient production methods such as qvevris, and the implied or stated conclusion that they deserve more international recognition. All are interesting to…
GrapeDeal.com 