What ever happened to… Wine Controversies?
Once upon a time I only had to open my mouth or take to my keyboard to ruffle feathers– I had Larry David’s effortless knack for causing offence. Asked to…
Focus On: Recaredo (Cava not Cava anymore) and Celler Credo
The other week Ton Mata was in town to show some new wines from Celler Credo and to reinforce the message that the Recaredo sparkling wines had seceded from the…
Celebrating the Autochthonous
I recently tasted a Georgian wine that had over 400 grape varieties blended into it. If ever there was a declaration of the symbolic desire to preserve a multi-faceted grape…
Doug Decants: Franz Weninger’s Furmint vom Kalk
Franz Weninger and his father switched to BD farming in 2006. They originally planted Furmint in Austria over a decade ago, but the vines were hit by frost – so…
Doug decants: Camillo Donati’s Lambrusco Frizzante
Slow food pilgrims who take their hunger, scrip and staff to Bologna and environs know that it’s possible to find interesting, well-balanced Lambrusco from artisanal producers and go-ahead co-operatives. We…
Focus on: Bodegas Emilio Hidalgo, Jerez de la Frontera
Bodegas Emilio Hidalgo was founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Emilio Hidalgo Hidalgo, so good they named him twice. The company is owned and operated by the fifth generation of…
Guest Blog: How I Caught the Natural Wine Bug – Freddie Johnson
My professional experience with wine starts unconventionally as a 19-year old cowering in the cellar of a Michelin-starred London restaurant. As I pondered just how many times a commis chef…
Indestructible Wines
We are taught to believe that wines inevitably decay from the moment the cork is pulled or the cap twisted. Oxygen is seen as the enemy here, hastening the precious…
Doug decants: Le Capitalisme Rouge est un Vin de Garage
Is this the most allusive wine label ever? I bloody hope so. But probably not. Before I explicate, a word from our sponsor, Monsieur Brendan Tracey, who has a technicolour…
Drinking Outside The Box: A review of our autumn trade tasting
We called our autumn trade tasting "Drinking Outside The Box" because we always want people to leave their preconceptions alongside their coats in the cloakroom and to approach our wines…