Category: Miscellaneous

The best bottle-filled books

Our Chairman Simon Berry has compiled a short list of those literary works that he deems ‘essential’ for every young wine-lover; here he introduces, and justifies, those titles that made the cut. When I got my first proper job in the wine trade, in November 1976, my father gave me a copy of Hugh Johnson’s […]

Dan Keeling on London’s wine scene

This month’s guest blogger is Dan Keeling, half of the duo behind Noble Rot and recently crowned Champagne Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year 2015. Here he discusses how Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barolo have made their way into East London’s edgiest bars; with fine wine no longer solely the remit of hushed restaurants […]

Castle in the sky

Formerly chief oenologist at Torres, Raul Bobet is now pursuing his dream in the Catalan Pyrenees with Castell d’Encus, his remarkable passion project driven by a plethora of non-indigenous varietals, ancient and modern winemaking techniques, and gallons of verve. Here he shines a light on the philosophy behind his wines. I have two winemaking projects, […]

When it comes to grapes, should we go native? Yea

Following on from yesterday’s post advocating the use of international varietals, Oliver Barton argues that we should embrace the richness and diversity of indigenous grapes. Who wants a burger when abroad? We are living in a world increasingly dominated by bland globalization; with the same companies popping up to make all cities look alike. We […]