2019 Real Wine Fair Thoughts

by blog on May 21, 2019

I have written about every fair since The Natural Wine Fair in 2011. Sometimes, I am still alight with the afterglow that one gets when one tastes great wines, meets engaged drinkers, and communicates animatedly with dedicated craftsmen and women. Sometimes, I experience that sense of loss one feels when the adrenalin buzz has thoroughly […]

{ 0 comments }

The Real Wine Fair: So Much More Than A Wine Tasting

by blog on April 30, 2019

A bit of grin and bear it, a bit of come and share it You’re welcome, we can spare it – yellow socks Too short to be haughty, too nutty to be naughty Going on 40 – no electric shocks The juice of the carrot, the smile of the parrot A little drop of claret […]

{ 0 comments }

How To Organise A Successful Wine Fair

April 29, 2019

Have a distinctive theme. Many wine tastings are generic and feel like tasting by numbers, others have too narrow a focus. It is clear that this is an artisan fair, where you will meet farmers, growers and wine producers and taste authentic, low-intervention wine. The important thing is that this tasting is mainly about the […]

Read the full article →

Amber Wines and ASMR

April 25, 2019

I sometimes seek a quality in wine that can only be described as tactility. It is that quality wherein the liquid touches taste-buds in such a way both physically and aromatically that it engenders a sense of total phenolic engagement. Which is why I love to drink skin contact/amber wines. They encourage you to roll […]

Read the full article →

Another Fine Unicorn: Gringet “Le Feu”, Domaine Belluard – Haute-Savoie

April 17, 2019

A wine may be rare because it is made in tiny quantities. Or because it is a one-off cuvee, perhaps one necessitated by the nature of a vintage. Or an experiment that succeeded. Or, an experiment that went wrong, and yet perversely succeeded because its oddness became noteworthy. Then there are wines that are rare […]

Read the full article →

Portuguese Wonders at The Real Wine Fair

April 15, 2019

There are always amazing discoveries to be made at the Real Wine Fair. The 2019 Fair features some wines from Portugal that are definitely worth the detour. Herdade do Cebolal is nestled on Alentejo coast at the south edge of Setubal wine region, although it can hardly be defined by broad geographical references. It’s all about […]

Read the full article →

Ugly Ducklings into Swans: A Real Wine Event at Solent Cellar

April 15, 2019

Every year, I am kindly invited by Heather and Simon of Solent Cellarto do a tasting masterclass at their cosy wine shop in Lymington in conjunction with Real Wine Month. This year I wanted to nail a particular theme and the idea of demonstrating the potential of so-called unloved varieties sprang to mind, the varieties that most effectively release […]

Read the full article →

Pet-ting Zoo

April 2, 2019

A Pet Nat (short for pétillant naturel) is a sparkling wine from a single vintage that undergoes a single fermentation. The wine ferments with its own yeast in tank or barrel and is transferred to bottle before the process is completed (with latent sugar). The fermentation continues without addition of yeasts, enzymes or sugar until […]

Read the full article →

Doug Decants: The Wines of Mauricio Gonzalez Carraro

April 2, 2019

Mauricio Gonzalez Carraro is part of the Asociación de Productores de Vino Campesino de Chile, organized by natural wine advocate and sommelier Macarena Lladser.  Their group of four all practise within the wine regions inside of the Secano Interior. They dry farm their organic land and mostly old ungrafted vines. Devoted to low intervention winemaking they […]

Read the full article →

The Autobiography of Les Caves de Pyrene. Chapter Six: Of the Psychology of Tasting, Wine Fairs and Feelings – Part Two

March 26, 2019

Read Chapter One Parts One, Two and Three Chapter Two Parts One, Two and Three Chapter Three Part One and Two and Three Chapter Four Part One and Two Chapter Five Part One and Two Chapter Six Part One Continued from Part One: 2011 was a watershed for natural wine in the UK. This was the time when people in the trade seemed to want to decide which side of the natural wine argumentative […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries