Articles

The Cava cometh: Vilarnau Gran Reserva 2012

by  |  03-10-2018

The drift from summer into the cooler, breathier vectors comprising fall is made ever so obvious by the sudden rise of sparkling wine promotion. Gearing people up for the winter holidays means getting the word... more »

The sale of Stony Hill, a unique corner of Napa Valley

by  |  30-08-2018

Sales of wineries are the jet fuel for the wine news that let’s them drop their news bombs and if there’s one specific type of sale more fuel-y than others, it’s a small winery in... more »

Wines to see the summer out

by  |  17-08-2018

The second half of August in Spain forms a downhill sprint to September/reality. Everyone is tanned, well swam and well, kinda “over” the whole beach thing at this point. Many just want to chill, usually... more »

Value a go-go: Lidl Crémant de Bourgogne Brut NV

by  |  25-07-2018

I don’t frequent the Lidl wine selection as much as I used to. It’s not as tight as it is in the UK and seems to have cozied up to the fact that Spaniards largely... more »

Drouhin Vaudon – Chablis 2016

by  |  06-03-2018

Instagram is weirder than the weather. Sometimes you put up a photo of what you think if one of the most dramatic landscapes you’ve ever seen but it gets nearly no reaction. Then, you put... more »

A Judgment of Paris-y kind of tasting

by  |  26-02-2018

The “Judgment of Paris” is one of those things that anyone the least bit tinged with wine will most likely never let go of. Big events in wine are often only big to wine people,... more »

Tasting the latest of Vins de Pedra

by  |  14-11-2017

It was back in 2012 that I witnessed the first breaths of Vins de Pedra. During a spring visit to La Vinyeta and chatting with owner, Josep Serra, it was impossible to miss a new... more »

A further tasting of Bodega Otazu

by  |  10-10-2017

When the mega top-end “Vitral” by Bodega Otazu was announced earlier this year, I wrote a critique of the overall approach of creating what is for all purposed a “cult wine”, one which is created... more »
Judean Hills gents: Golan Flam, Doron Rav Hon, Eli-Gilbert Ben-Zaken, Eran Pick MW

An update on Israeli wines

by  |  30-08-2017

It’s something of an interesting time for the wines of Israeli as a number of the very quality-conscious producers are digging into that third dimension of wine, “terroir”. They’re working to further flesh out and... more »

Alta Alella’s Parvus

by  |  13-06-2017

I’ve been a fan of what Alta Alella has been doing for some time. In case you don’t believe me, have a look. To a large extent, they’ve been striving a great deal to drive... more »