I was out Christmas shopping the other day in Central London and what a scrum! Even though it was Monday afternooon, everyone and their grandma was out frantically snapping up the best deals they could get and the shops seemed to be more than happy to accommodate. I hate crowds and got my shopping done as quickly...
read moreI read recently in Off License News that American wines have now bested the French in terms of sales here in the UK. Sales have gone from 5% to 17% in the last ten years while in the same time period French wine sales have fallen from 35% to 17% . Good and bad news. The good news is we’re No. 2, behind Australia. The bad news...
read moreSometimes I forget that I live in Europe. England can be so very familiar, what with the same language, McD and Gap on the corner, American shows on tv . But this morning I was feeling particularly Continental. Not English, Continental. I think it had to do with the tram I took to work. I usually take the train but I stayed over...
read moreI got a bit sidetracked last week with wineblogging Wednesday but here is pt. 2 of my Sunday dinner. Since I was tweeting all night long ( and those were the only notes I took), I’m posting the tweets verbatim. Unfortunately, after dinner and all that red wine, the tweets got shorter so I’ve add a comment or two now...
read moreToday is Wine blogging Wednesday (#52)!! Our mission, given to us by Cheapwineratings.com, was to pick a Chilean wine for under $20 bucks or value reds from Chile as they put it. With the exchange rate what it is now, we settled on a Chilean for under £14 (approximate, but with the pound sinking it might be less now). At Oddbins...
read moreSunday dinner at mine. Rack of lamb, good friends and lots of fab wine. Ayesha, John and I provided the food and everyone else had to bring a wine. The aperitifs – ’02 Blin vintage champagne and the Balfour Brut Sparkling Rose. The Balfour again getting rave reviews, Penny said that it could easily be confused with...
read moreMy good friend Oscar from Quevedo Port wine, located in the Douro Valley, Portugal recently sent me an internet meme that he had received from Ryan and Gabriella over at Catavino, to share 6 things about myself that my readers might not now about me. I’d have to say I’ve been there, done that, but some of the more...
read moreMy friends over at Bibendum have come up with some help in these recessional times for friends and family. A limited time offer of 20 percent off some cracking cases of wine and champagne! They’ve got one of my favourite champagnes in on the offer, Bruno Paillard NV as well as that scrumptious English sparkler – Balfour...
read moreThe other night at the Guanabara wine tasting a fellow asked me what I thought of screwcaps. More precisely, what did I think the server should do with the screwcap after the bottle has been opened? I did an informal survey amongst the bloggers around the table and the funniest but true comment came from Foodrambler, who said that...
read moreSAMBA de Janiero! Do you remember that hit from the late 90’s? To me that encapsulates everything about Brazil. The pumping beats, brassy horns and the ubiquitous whistles that always remind me of Carnival and the carefree, beachy lifestyle of Brazil. Although we’re sipping Caiparinas on the beaches of Brazil,...
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