Wines that do their own thing
Sublime outrage Let us pay tribute to the magnificent otherness of certain wines, those that defy expectations in the most glorious way. Over the years, natural wines have shifted the…
Remembering Susanna Forbes of Little Pomona Cidery and Orchard
It is with deep sorrow that we learned of the passing of Susanna Forbes after a lengthy illness. She co-founded Little Pomona Cidery & Orchard, with her husband James and they…
The Riesling Conundrum
Over the decades wine styles have changed due to the application of modern (often industrial) farming techniques and also been radically altered by vinification methods designed to âclean upâ…
Talking about wine and health
I am not an expert (to put it mildly) about whether the systemic use of chemicals in vineyards and the cocktail of allowable additives used to stabilise wines is injurious…
Lost for words: Tasting wine and emotional responses
One of the things that I like doing on holiday is to bring a bottle of wine down to the beach when the sun is setting, half fill a glass…
Doug Decants ~ The Wines of Robert-Denogent, MĂąconnais
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Denogent family, originally from FuissĂ©, started the winegrowing business. AndrĂ©e Robert, nĂ©e Denogent, grandmother of Antoine and Nicolas, owned 5 hectares of…
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…