I recently was invited by Helena Nicklin to join her in a champagne tasting of Billecart-Salmon’s NV Extra Brut and their 2004 Vintage champagnes. The intriguing difference in this tasting was that we would be using Billecart-Salmon’s specially designed wine glasses and compared the champagnes in both a traditional...
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Oldenburg Vineyards in Stellenbosch, S. Africa, is located in what many consider to the premium wine growing region of the country. The vineyard is in the Banghoek Valley which means “scary corner” due to that fact that it used to the stomping grounds of local leopards. Nowadays they have all but disappeared leaving...
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Earlier this year I was invited to learn more about Celebrity Cruises at Vinopolis and it was a surprising evening for me. Cruise ships have definitely changed from the days of shuffleboard and the blue-rinse brigade, focusing on fine dining and wine as well as having a variety of shipboard activities and themed cruises. Celebrity...
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One of the most expensive bottles of wine in the world will soon be on sale here in London. It’s from Penfold’s Winery and is called the Ampoule (rrp £120,000). Made from the oldest continuously producing cabernet vines in the world from Penfolds Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet Sauvignon, and only produced in the best years,...
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Johannes Leitz ebulliently came out to greet us as we pulled up to the family home in the town of Rudesheim am Rhein, with lots of smiles and handshakes, he ushered us into the open kitchen/den where we were to have our winetasting. But first, lunch… I was a bit surprised when Johannes disappeared and then reappeared with...
read moreFilm4 Summer Screen is returning to Somerset House from 16th to 27th August, and The Wine Sleuth has teamed up with the official wine sponsor of this year’s events, Bordeaux Wines, to offer a pair of tickets to one of the sold out performances – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (PG) on Sunday 26th August. All tickets are...
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I know this great little place in Covent Garden, it’s called Dalla Terra. It’s easy to miss even though it is in the heart of Covent Garden, just off Long Acre as a matter of fact. Dodging my way past the throngs of shoppers and tourists, I turned off on to a sleek corridor of shops which ended in an open stone...
read moreI like specialist wine shops but there are not many around the high street nowadays. Happily, there seems to be more and more appearing on the internet. Some people may find it a bit intimidating buying wine online but just as you rely on the assistance of the staff in a wine shop, the better online wine websites have a bounty of...
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Rosé is still fighting an up hill battle. Despite the variety of styles available, most people either associate it with sickly sweet Blossom Hill or the light, pale rosés of Provence. There are however, wines that fall into the middle and that is where you can find the rosés of Bordeaux. Deeper in colour but still bursting with...
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I went to a rather interesting dinner over the weekend. It’s called Global Feast and the premise is over 20 days, the event will feature a cuisine from 20 regions around the world. Global Feast is also featuring chefs and supper club owners each night, many of them flying in specifically for the event. Besides all that, the...
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