30 years of Fatalone Primitivo Riserva: A Report

March 20, 2018

The History of Fatalone The Fatalone name originated with Filippo Petrera (2nd generation), Nicola’s son, who was, in his time, nicknamed Il Fatalone. It quickly caught on becoming the family nickname. Fatalone translates literally into ‘Lady Killer’ or ‘one who can boast to be an irresistible seducer of women’, much like the legendary Don Juan. […]

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Doug decants: The Wines of François Rousset-Martin, Jura

March 20, 2018

Some growers seem to be born iconic, some have iconic status thrust upon them and some seem to avoid the limelight entirely, simply content to sell their wines. It helps to protect your identity when you are located in Nevy-sur-Seille, a village tucked away in the Vallée des Reculées, where François Rousset-Martin makes his wine. […]

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Natural Wine Philosophy: Non-Philosophical Musings

March 13, 2018

What is your personal philosophy, Lucy asks Charlie Brown. He thinks for a moment: ‘Life is like an ice cream cone – you have to lick it one day at a time.’ Although I haven’t written about the topic of natural wine for ages I haven’t broken out in hives. Wine philosophy, after all, is […]

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The Stirrings of a UK Wine Culture

March 9, 2018

Are you curious to know if there a disjunction between London and the rest of the UK in terms of wine taste? Although I am mainly interested in regional attitudes towards natural wines, one may broaden the terms of reference to include all interesting, authentic, terroir-driven wines, unusual styles, and offbeat grape varieties. We have […]

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Wines of The Sea – The Life of Brine

March 2, 2018

Wine lists are organised by price, by country/region, by grape variety and in the broadest sense, by style or flavour profile. But when one thinks that wines come from particular places, then categorisation in terms of soil and climate seems to be both the most salient and intuitive means of classifying wine. For us a […]

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Doug decants: Judith Beck Welschriesling Bambule!

March 2, 2018

The Beck winery is a family estate in Gols, in northern Burgenland near lake Neusiedl. Traditionally, there were small mixed farms in the area, but they always grew vines as part of the agricultural diversity. In 1975 Matthias Beck took over from his father and started to focus on wine only, they started with 5 […]

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New Arrivals: From Oregon to Croatia, Marlborough to Burgenland!

March 1, 2018

Oregon trailers Ovum’s Off The Grid Riesling has just rejoined our supply to power your electrifying Riesling needs. Since I Fell For You Gewurz is the latest Traminer to fall off the Nina Simone album. Bow & Arrow dictates the rule of Loire – back is the deeply crunchable Melon, the sappy Rhinestones, the gulpable […]

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Ficheing for information

February 23, 2018

We want information, information, information –The Prisoner There is no substitute for standing in a vineyard and shaking the clay from the soles of your shoes. To share the same space as the vines, to feel the heat or the breeze or maybe the heat of the breeze, to rub the dirt between your fingers […]

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Doug decants: Franz Weninger Vom Kalk, Burgenland Austria

February 17, 2018

Just as each wine grower is a unique individual, so too are their vineyards. Franz Weninger insists on expressing the different soil types found throughout Burgenland and uses Blaufrankisch as the vehicle with which to achieve this. To do this most effectively it is vitally important to encourage biodiversity, and to work organically and also […]

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The wine in Strine stays mainly off the plain

February 17, 2018

The reverse convict boat from Australia docked recently with some convincing grog from our alternative and alliterative artisans. Pat Sullivan has sent us one of his indeterminate gluggers: Jumpin Juice, a reddish wine that says chill it and chill out. Blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, or so we believe. Many varied fermentation vessels and […]

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