Month: May, 2008

Real Castles in Spain…

  I have just returned from a brief visit to a rain-drenched Rioja, tasting and assessing the new releases. The wines in general are elegant, fresh and focused but even in youth seem to  lack  something of the concentration and tannic grip of more illustrious forebears such as 2001 and 2004. Overall, I would say, of the major Bodegas visited La […]

Bow down to British Bubbly

Thanks in part to warmer temperatures (2007 was the second warmest year in the UK in 356 years) more and more English land is becoming suitable for wine production and perhaps in 50 years time, England will be able to compete with Champagne. Today, there are 1,000 vineyards in England across Kent, Hampshire, Essex and […]

Summer’s here…enjoy it while it lasts!

The sun’s shining and so am I. Those lazy summer days with friends and family have finally arrived and this weekend I managed to squeeze in a beach picnic, a barbeque extravaganza and a light alfresco dinner amongst the jasmine and falling blossom! Ahh, pure bliss. With the odds against me I decided to put […]

Our Future of Wine Report

Today Berrys’ launched their ‘Future of Wine Report’, attracting a whole host of media attention including an article in the Guardian and an appreciative mention on Jancis Robinson’s website. The world of wine can change pretty quickly. So much has changed over the last 50 years that we thought it would be fun, and instructive, […]