Tinta de Toro. Wine of the Bull? Is that like the Hungarian wine, Bull’s blood? The origins of the name may be lost in the mists of time but I can tell you that tinta de toro is a local varietal found in the western half of Spain, near the town of Zamora. It’s thought that the varietal is an adaptation of that...
read moreLast week Catavino (Ryan and Gabriella Opaz) based in Terrazas, (near Barcelona) Spain, were in town to do a bit of networking and stopped by Vinoteca to host an Iberian wine & web tasting. The Winesleuth was there to taste along with her fellow winebloggers, Spitton and Surf4Wine. There was a wide selection of whites and reds...
read moreBibendum had their annual trade tasting last week and what a show! It was at the new Saatchi Gallery in the old Duke of York’s HQ in Chelsea. They’ve done wonders with the old barracks, perfect gallery space with lots of connecting hallways and stairs to who-knows-where. Every turn revealed a delightful surprise of...
read morethe town of Briones, Spain I know it seems like I will never stop talking about the EWBC but we really packed a lot into the 2 1/2 days we were in Rioja. I can only imagine what the US Winebloggers Conference is going to be like in Sonoma, CA – which I will be flying back to the West Coast to attend in Oct. The last day of...
read moreThe town of Briones overlooking the vineyard The second day of the EWBC was held at the Dinastia Vivanco winery in Briones, Rioja. Dinastia Vivanco was founded in 1915 but despite that, they have a state of the art facility, opened by the King of Spain in 2006. More importantly, they have an awesome museum of wine. You’ll...
read moreThe Bluebird Wineshop in Chelsea had become one of my favourites because of their great winetastings and Penny Johns, the manager has come up with a great list of tastings for the Autumn. This Wednesday, Sept 10th, she is hosting a Fine Cognac and Cigar tasting in the courtyard of the Bluebird Restaurant. Amanda Laden from Delamain...
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