Recent Posts
Next weekend, May 10th, is Decanter’s Italian Fine Wine Encounter. I always enjoy going to these events because it’s the perfect opportunity to meet and taste some fabulous Italian wines. I love Italian wine but sadly, I never seem to have the time to really get to know them. Decanter’s tasting serves as a good...
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Now that Spring has sprung, that means that the RHS Chelsea Flower show is just around the corner. The show was first held in 1913 on the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital and except for gaps during both World Wars, it has been held there ever since. It used to be the biggest flower show until it was overtaken by the Hampton Court...
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I attended a dinner recently at Moti Mahal in Covent Garden featuring the culinary and cultural heritage of the Grand Trunk Road. For those of you unfamiliar with the GTR (as it’s commonly called) is an ancient trade and military route that linked the East and West of India for centuries. The road was crucial in the process...
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“The first job of Bordeaux is to be red.” That is a common saying in the region and one that was repeated to me by Troisièmes Crus Classified Château Cantenac Brown Margaux winemaker Jose Sanfins at dinner the other night. So, why was he making a white wine in Bordeaux? Well, in a nutshell, Jose likes the whites of...
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As we touched down in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, I was full of anticipation for the next few days and my stay at the Four Seasons Sharm el Sheikh and not only because it was my birthday that week I’ve stayed at a few other Four Seasons resorts around the world but I’d never been to the Red Sea and couldn’t wait to...
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If someone had offered me kosher wine not too long ago I would have politely passed. To me, kosher wine meant sickly sweet and more akin to grape juice then wine. However, after the recent Kosher Food and Wine Experience I attended here in Central London, I have a definitely changed my tune. Kosher wine is technically ‘grape...
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Did you know that Ruinart were the first champagne house to ship rosé champagne back in 1764? That fact was only recently discovered by the house when the was doing a bit of research into their archives. Although Veuve Clicquot was the first to do an assemblage rosé back in 1880, Ruinart was the first to ship a rosé champagne in...
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Comedy enthusiasts and wine lovers alike might remember the film ‘Sideways’, the tale of two wine lovers on a stag weekend. No doubt the part that sticks in their memory is one of the lead characters voicing an angry refusal to drink Merlot. Naturally, the film won’t have done any favours for this dry, red wine. Who knows, a lot of...
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A few weeks ago I was in Champagne and paid a visit to the House of Laurent-Perrier. I always enjoy cellar visits but the ones in Champagne I especially like because they are usually carved out of chalk and full of all that lovely champagne! The cellars of Laurent Perrier snake beneath the House for 10 kms and encompass not only...
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When one thinks of Spanish wines, Rioja immediately springs to mind but that’s not the only game in town. I visited the region of Navarra which is just north of Rioja last Autumn and found a diverse and exciting wine region. A region that is producing great value for money wines. Navarra has been producing wines for centuries...
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