Events, my dear, events!!
We roll blinking into September with a pair of trade tastings. The first is in London called (Do You) Remember the 23rd of September? The title is a nod and…
Doug decants: Sottobanco Bianco & Alkes Rosato from Andrea Occhipinti
Andrea Occhipinti fell in love with the vineyards of Gradoli while he was at the Agrarian University of Tuscia, so much so that they became the subject of his…
Tasting Wine and Straining the Brain
The other day I was given a wine blind and asked to guess what it was. I wasnât getting anything. It was neutral with a short finish and all I…
On Not Enjoying Expensive Wine
The other day, at a nameless restaurant in a nameless place, three colleagues and I drank a large number of nameless conventionally-made âclassicâ wines. When I say drank, I mean…
News of the new: Drinking highlights of the summer
With torrential rain throughout the last couple of months, it is only fair that we report on a flood of new and recent arrivals. These are but a small proportion…
Doug Decants: Mantoulan by Clos Lapeyre
I have had a huge soft spot for Jurançon since I first encountered a dry version of the wine in a restaurant in Marylebone in the early 1990s. Our company…
The Pinot Conundrum
Certain grape varieties, like football teams, engender strong supportive feelings in individuals. Perhaps, they enjoy an exalted reputation as a noble variety and accrue a mythology around themselves. We hear…