Articles

An oasis of wine in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel

by  |  01-10-2018

A brief “vacation” last year was spent zipping around Israel to see bits I hadn’t seen during my first trip in 2014. The main population centers of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are in the dead... 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 »

Kazakhstani Saperavi (& Pinot Noir!) – Arba Assa Valley

by  |  27-01-2018

Whenever visiting a region in the name of wine, I always try to push the public transportation option so as to reduce car congestion on country roads (ahem, Napa) and of course not worry about... more »

In The Glass: Haden Fig – Eola Amity Hills Pinot Noir 2013

by  |  20-09-2017

If there’s one thing that’s exactly the same for me living in Spain as it was living in California, it’s the amount of wine from the Willamette Valley in Oregon that I drink which is... more »

In The Glass: Marimar Estate – Don Miguel Vineyard 2012

by  |  30-08-2017

Marimar Estate is a Torres family venture that’s run my namesake, Marimar Torres in the gilded wine lands of California. Started in 1986, she’s built a solid winery business in the Sonoma Valley with wines... more »
From the Fanagoria website

Fanagoria – Cru Lermont Pinot Noir 2015

by  |  10-08-2017

Russia and wine are not two words oft spoken in the same breath. So while judging at the Decanter Awards in April, in a seriously mixed and exotic flight, my table found themselves presented with... more »

A tale of two New Zealand Pinot Noirs

by  |  08-01-2017

The wines of New Zealand are probably well-known via different ways depending upon where you are in the world. For instance, when living the US, everyone knew of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but few knew... more »

Burgundy 2016

by  |  28-11-2016

When in Burgundy in March for Grands Jour, it was happier times. The winemakers had come off of the very good and excellent vintages of 2014 and 2015–something generally unheard of in this exalted, yet... more »

WTF? Vaso Ramazashvili – Pinot Noir 2015

by  |  07-10-2016

When I was browsing around the offer at 8,000 Vintages, I stumbled across this wine which is a Pinot Noir. For those who aren’t up on your Saperavi, Khikhvi, and Rkatsiteli, Pinot Noir is not... more »

Never mind the grapes, here’s the yeast

by  |  18-07-2016

It seems I have a never-ending treasure trove of articles from the ICCWS 2016 held in Brighton this past May. There was one session that was particularly interesting (well, maybe really) and it was about... more »