I’ve just completed a two week, nearly four thousand kilometre tour of Lower Austria and Burgenland, the Mosel and Alsace, meeting producers and assessing the quality of the (very promising) 2009 vintage – something I’ll be blogging (on) about next week. In the meantime, and as way of preparation closer to home (in Piemonte), I […]

At the end of the month Signor Claudio Rosso bows out after three years as the (Honorary) President of the Langhe and Roero Consorzio, representing most – but not all – of the hundreds of (Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Arneis, Moscato) producers in the region. Last week I caught up with him at his family’s Cantina Gigi […]

Week four of wine adventures in Piedmont The only crunch the Ferrero chocolate factory in Alba can surely have endured came as a result of the pre-Pasqua surge for its Kinder eggs, a fine selection of which were on display at the altar on Easter Sunday. Whoever said the Church is out of touch should […]

Week three of wine adventures in Piedmont Bright sun and a warming breeze was all the encouragement a fair-weather lackey  needed to swap the pen for the secateurs. Alas it wasn’t to be. All togged up in my choicest gear, complete with hiking boots, the boss/il capo effectively left me on the bench as I watched […]