Recent Posts
Although Australia is the ‘New World,’ I was surprised when I visited recently to see how, at least in the Barossa Valley, they like to make wine the old fashioned way. It seems like many of the boutique producers there put a lot of effort into using grapes and making wines that both have a history in the region and in...
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When we arrived at Alain Geoffroy’s tasting room,it was the end of a long day of tasting in Chablis and while it had been an illuminating day of tasting, I must admit by this time my teeth and palate were ready for a small break. When Alain’s daughter, Nathalie, came out to greet us and asked if we wanted to tour the...
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The Enchanting Tree lives up to it’s name, that’s for sure. The invitation promised an “enchanting champagne moment” and I have to say I was immediately charmed by the tree dripping with full champagne glasses as I walked into one of the darkened gallery rooms of the Saatchi Gallery. Set in the middle of the...
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Does the size of a wineglass make a difference in your enjoyment of it? I think so but as a trained wine professional, I get paid to pick out the subtle differences in wine so anything that will help me when I’m tasting a wine is always welcome. But what about the average consumer who just wants to enjoy their glass of wine?...
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Yesterday I had a masterclass of Sherry with the recently appointed president of the Sherry Institute (or Consejo Regulador as it’s known in Spanish), Beltran Domecq. Beltran’s family has been involved in sherry for literally centuries, his father is from the Gonzalez family of Gonzalez Byass fame. Beltran was in town...
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Shooting up to the top of the Burj Khalifa, it takes less then a minute to go from sea level to the 124th observatory floor of the building. That’s about 10 metres a second but the ride is so smooth, the only thing you notice is a slight popping of your ears. When you think about it, it is a bit scary, I mean that is a...
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Laying by the pool at the Novotel Hotel in Barossa Valley, the last thing I wanted to do was leave, especially considering this was my last chance to get some sun before returning to grey England but I had an appointment with Jacob’s Creek and so I reluctantly left the pool. However, once I met up with James Keane from...
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My recent trip to Adelaide was great but it was even better by the fact that I flew with Emirates Airlines. Emirates recently started flights from London to Adelaide via Dubai and I was invited to see just how nice it is to fly with Emirates. I got to the airport early (!) so I was able to hang out in the Business Class Lounge at...
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That’s James Lindner, hanging out with the 170 yr old shiraz vines that he and his family own and use to produce their top wines. Australia has some of the oldest pre-phylloxera vines in the world and the Barossa is where you will find these 170 year old survivors. The Freedom vineyard was planted in 1843 by German immigrants...
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I’ve never actually visited a winery while they’re in the middle of harvest so it was fun and exciting to be there. Dodging tractors, forklifts, hose pipes, wet floors and empty barrels while de-stemming, crushing and fermenting is going on literally right under your nose makes it a whole lot more exciting then the...
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