Eat, drink and sleep: Mendoza

Continuing our series of mini vinous travel guides, itinerant drinks writer Amanda Barnes takes you through the perfect trip to Mendoza, Argentina – with tips on where to stay, what to eat and which wineries to visit “Mendoza: the land of sun and wine” reads the welcome sign in the airport. And the catchphrase isn’t […]

The fuddled identity of Carménère

As we approach World Carménère Day, wine writer Amanda Barnes regales the grape’s remarkable history, detailing its path from near extinction to rapidly becoming Chile’s signature grape There’s more than one grape variety that has played hide and seek under the folds of time, but perhaps none has done it quite as spectacularly as Carménère. Although […]

From deepest, darkest Peru

Drinks writer Amanda Barnes is undergoing a mammoth project to capture the wine world as it stands today, in 80 harvests. Here she reports from Peru, a historic producer knocked down by its colonial ruler, and home to much, much more than Pisco. It might not be the first wine-producing country you think of in […]

Tasting the HoseMaster’s medicine

Following on from yesterday’s post, Richard Hemming MW pens a response to the HoseMaster of Wine – affectionately imitating the satirical writer’s style, which we trust he will find as flattering as receiving 100 points from any of the critics whose ankles he yaps at. Dear HoseMaster, I very much enjoyed your piece about homeless […]