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Tag: wine

  • Chinese Wine

    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…

  • Château Sharot Vineyard Report August 2019

    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…

  • Baccy, bets and booze: Bulgaria

    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…

  • Château Sharot part 4 – Repairing my wine

    A couple of weeks at the London Wine Fair a friend in the trade asked me how my home-made wine had turned out. I was flattered that anyone had not only read my previous blogs on this subject but remembered doing so six months later. It is true that I have been neglecting both my…

  • Château Sharot part 3 – En primeur tasting

    Part 1 of this blog post described my tiny six-vine vineyard in London, and Part 2 the start of winemaking. But after six days the fermentation stuck; this third part picks up the story there. What to do? First I waited to see if the fermentation would restart spontaneously, even if slowly. No such luck,…

  • Château Sharot – The World’s Rarest and Most Unusual Wine – Part 2

    Part 1 of this blog post described my tiny garden vineyard in London and the first harvest from all of five vines, of different varieties. The idea of making wine from so few vines, and of such inharmonious varieties, is of course preposterous. No good could come of it, but neither are wine grapes much…

  • Château Sharot – The World’s Rarest and Most Unusual Wine

    There are probably a number of winemakers who describe their wine in this way. There is certainly at least one: me. Why most unusual? Well, the vineyard is in London, while winemaking takes place in Singapore. Neither city is commonly host to their respective activity. Why rarest? Because the vineyard has just six vines, all…

  • Are you scared off buying wine?

    A recent consumer study, commissioned by E&J Gallo’s Dark Horse brand, found that nearly three quarters of the sample of ‘Brits’ found restaurant wine tomes intimidating. The study also found that 36% weren’t sure what they were supposed to look out for when the wine waiter offers the wine to taste. Also, 23% always buy…

  • Balinese Wine (Part 2 of 2)

    In Part 1 I described the terroir and grape varieties in Bali, a true example of the rare art of tropical viticulture. Now this blog is about the wineries on this Island of the Gods. There are two main wineries, using locally grown grapes, plus Plaga Wine, which uses only imported concentrated juice (thus avoiding…

  • Balinese Wine (Part 1 of 2)

    Dreamland Beach, Bali Winemaking is almost certainly not an activity that you associate with Bali – unless I have underestimated the knowledge of my readers! Until recently I would have not have done so myself, but then learned that not only is wine made in Bali but that viniculture is quite widespread in the tropics…