Articles

DO Pla de Bages gets another bump

by  |  27-04-2019

DO Pla de Bages in Central Catalunya has just announced the official addition of Celler Sant Miquel d’Oló. Normally, a new cellar added to a DO wouldn’t merit note but given that it takes the... more »

A gateway to Lebanese wine: Hochar Père et Fils 2015

by  |  22-04-2019

There are random appearances of Château Musar’s “Grand Vin” at a wine and liquor shop in the Duty Free of Stansted Airport which seem to be dictated by the laws of chaos. The temptation has... more »

A book review of “Root Cause”

by  |  15-04-2019

For anyone involved in wine, it’s almost always the case that “pleasure reading” is some kind of dense tome from which a rare beast called, “fact” is derived. Fiction based upon wine is perhaps an... more »

Not Tinto, Blanco. Tempranillo Blanco

by  |  12-04-2019

1988 was nuts. There was the Iran-Contra Affair, the Eritrean War for Independence, the Nagorno-Karabakh War, a Kuwait Airways hijacking, an Iran Air flight shot down “accidentally” by the US, the Soviet Union launching its... more »

Et tu, Eto? Redefining single-serving wine, again.

by  |  08-04-2019

The core issue with First World problems is that there are simply so many and they’re all so equally “serious”. The grocery store has run out of your preferred bottled water. Your personal trainer only... more »

Zayane, a new tribe on the Moroccan wine map

by  |  05-04-2019

It was 2015. I was slightly younger, living in a different village, and most importantly, thought nothing of going to Morocco, in July, during Ramadan. That was an adventure worthy of the hardest of face-palm... more »

Champagne’s terroir problem

by  |  01-04-2019

The train to Champagne departs Paris every hour at 36 minutes past from Gare de l’Est. While the carriages might be from an past era, the trip isn’t long with the congestion and sirens of... more »

The Mas Doix – Lede Family partnership

by  |  28-03-2019

In Priorat, you hear a great deal but often know very little. This was shown no better than hearing changes were afoot last year with Mas Doix in the village Poboleda but not really knowing... more »

Let’s talk about ’16 and Álvaro Palacios

by  |  25-03-2019

A decade ago, despite living just an hour away in San Francisco, my visits to Napa Valley were readily-dwindling in regularity as tourism was then and is now, out of control. But in a nearly-final... more »

Looking back on Sauvignon Blanc

by  |  20-03-2019

My flight had arrived on time. This may seem a trivial concern but when flying Iberia’s budget line, Vueling, you prepare for the annoying but expect the worst. Sometimes that just means seats arranged for... more »