It was the sight of Christian Vallejo of Vik Winery which did it for me. There was he in his shirtsleeves, dandling a glass of Cabernet, under the bluest sky the world possesses and, so it seemed, with the clearest air, the greenest vine leaves and the most beguiling mountain peaks in the distant heat. […]
I am a terrible fiend. A fiend for pickles, cured meats and smoked cuts. I’m insatiable. There’s no use hiding it and I am only moderately repentant. Salted, smoked, air-dried. I’m your man. I assume it’s something to do with multiple generations before me, preserving foods to indulge in during the lean winter months. It […]
What could be better to perk up January than to make exciting new discoveries in wine? And from one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving wine countries of all – Chile. I am thrilled to be hosting the second tasting of the Three Wine Men’s unique Chilean Discovery two-part event in a month’s time. […]
Here’s a bright way of learning about the diverse wines from the sunny South West of France. The new Occitanie Wine School on YouTube offers 11 sip-size, short videos for you to watch free right now by clicking here – wherever you may be and whenever you have a moment. Experienced sommeliers have found the […]
Tim Atkin MW is the world’s leading expert on South African wine, each year tasting his way through all their wines to write his South Africa Special Report. He has recently been exploring some classic and off the beaten track varietals from one of South Africa’s leading producers KWV. The Mentors is a range of limited production wines which focus […]
Castilla y León is predominantly red wine country. With its continental Mediterranean climate, long, dry summers and warm autumns, how could it be otherwise? This doesn’t mean that whites are irrelevant, as those of you who attended our second virtual tasting will be aware. And yet, for the all the success of Rueda in particular, […]
It’s one of the great success stories of the modern wine world, every bit as remarkable in its way as the rise and rise of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Established as recently as 1980 as a Denominación de Origen, Rueda has become Spain’s most popular white wine, accounting for 40% of national sales. […]
I’ve been a fan of Argentine reds for a long time. I’ve enjoyed the punchy power of those Malbecs, their dark, juicy fruit, stewed in the vat with beefsteak, it often seemed, but I didn’t mind. And the splat of gaucho tannin that hurled itself against my gums… No, I didn’t really mind that either. But […]
In 2020, as I am sure is the case for many of us, catch-up phone calls with friends have become more important than ever. We all have a fair amount of stress in our lives at the moment and these chats are buoyancy-aides of honest, open, human communication. I pepper my working day with them. […]
If you love premium gin but haven’t discovered Wales’s finest spirits yet then you are missing out! There’s a great chance to put that right coming up soon when I join forces with the Three Wine Mn collective to host a virtual tasting of two top Welsh gins. Guests will also have two superb Welsh […]
