Wine cruising with Vinopolis and Celebrity Cruises

Jan 22, 13 Wine cruising with Vinopolis and Celebrity Cruises

Posted by in France, Portugal, Spain, Travel

Last Autumn, I was invited by Celebrity Cruises and Vinopolis to join their Immersive Wine Cruise. The cruise featured Oz Clarke and, from Vinopolis, their head educator, Tom Forrest.  They were on hand to not only lead masterclasses on board but also joined guests every evening for wine chats and led the vineyard tours which were...

read more

Christmas dinner SOS, affordable wines for about a tenner – video

I know I’m not really known for my budget friendly wines, what with all that Krug I’ve been guzzling lately, but I do keep up with what’s going on in the supermarkets and when vouchercodes.co.uk asked me to do a video with my recommendations for value for money wines this holiday season, it wasn’t too...

read more

A few suggestions for champers next week

Dec 21, 12 A few suggestions for champers next week

Posted by in Champagne

I ran away to Thailand for the holidays this season and not missing the cold, wet, soggy weather at all but one thing I am missing is champagne! Sadly, champagne is prohibitively expensive in Thailand due to taxes so I’m missing my favourite drink. Before I left, though, I managed to get in a few drinks. Perrier Jouet sent me...

read more

Cigars and red wine, they may not be a classic pairing but…

Nov 07, 12 Cigars and red wine, they may not be a classic pairing but…

Posted by in Argentina, California, Chile, Lifestyle

I recently took part in a cigar and red wine matching exercise with Alvaro Marcos Garcia of Concha y Tora and two lovely fellows, Jimmy and Dan, from Hunters & Frankau, a major cigar importer and distributor here in the UK. Alvaro is an ex-sommelier and he often noticed that diners would often have a cigar after lunch or dinner...

read more

Podcast with Tamra Washington, Chief Winemaker of Yealands Estate

Oct 15, 12 Podcast with Tamra Washington, Chief Winemaker of Yealands Estate

Posted by in New Zealand wine, Podcast

New Zealand winery, Yealands Estate recently won a slew of awards at the International Wine Challenge 2012 (The International Sauvignon Blanc Award, The James Rogers Award and the Marlborough White Wine Award), pretty impressive for a winery that only produced its first wines in 2008. Their chief winemaker, Tamra Washington was in...

read more