Lying in a patch of heaven on Napa’s prime Rutherford Bench is John Williams’ Frog’s Leap winery; an oasis of viticultural life; an island of humility & fine wine, but not a frog in sight!  We were lucky enough to have John come to Berrys to tell his story over dinner; of how, in the […]

  Friday night saw Chief Winemaker Kevin Judd make his inaugural visit to Berrys, hosting a dinner for 39 devotees. Who would have thought that this Hampshire lad (born Totton, Southampton), whose parents emigrated to Adelaide on a £10 (air) ticket would have such a profound impact on the world of wine.  The story goes that founder […]

One of the numerous upsides of working in this great industry is that every now and again you get invited to places that are impossible to get into. A case in point was a few weeks ago being asked to the fabled French Laundry in Napa, California. Always in the top three restaurants of the […]

On a recent trip to California, my colleague (Mark Ross) and I had the opportunity to visit the famed joint winery of Au Bon Climat and Qupé in the Santa Maria Valley. I’ll be honest and say that I hadn’t tasted their wines too many times and was expecting the stereotypical big, brash style with […]