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Washington State: A happy place for grapes Mar 29 2013

NO two neighbours make such different wine as the states of Washington and Oregon.Read

Getting to know the Rhône Valley Mar 22 2013

NO region in the world of wine promotes itself as successfully as Côtes du Rhône, as a recent survey of leading members of the UK wine trade revealed. But do Rhône Valley wines appeal to ordinary drinkers?Read

Greywacke wine taking the world by storm Mar 15 2013

JANCIS Robinson, the doyenne of wine writers, is rarely wrong. But in a book published in 1986, she wrote: “Sauvignon Blanc looks set to fall out of favour.”Read

Classy wines are the fruit of Casa Silva’s study Mar 08 2013

IT’S thought that the first European vines were planted in Chile in about 1554. Right from the start it was plain that they would flourish.Read

Groundwork vital for good grapes Mar 01 2013

I’VE been learning more about what makes great wines special, and in particular, one of the world’s most exciting red wines, Château Cheval Blanc.Read

Special place with special soil Feb 22 2013

SOME places are special. One of them is Coonawarra. The scenery in this part of South Australia is unremarkable, or more bluntly, in the words of wine writer Anthony Rose, “It’s bleak, windy and flat as a pancake. You drive through and wonder what all the fuss is about”.Read

Surprisingly super Pinot Noirs from Oregon Feb 15 2013

I HAVE a thing about Pinot Noir. It’s my favourite red wine grape. In my book, the original and greatest Pinot Noir still comes from Burgundy although I’m greatly impressed by some examples from New Zealand.Read

Rich red is one of Italy’s finest Feb 08 2013

THERE’S nothing quite like Amarone, but it all began as an accident. For as long as anyone can remember, Italian farmers have made sweet wine from semi-dried grapes.Read

Investment at Mas Belles Eaux looks certain to pay off Feb 01 2013

GREAT wine only comes from a great site. The curious reality is that despite over 2,000 years of wine-growing experience, the potential of some of the greatest sites in southern France is only now becoming clear.Read

Plight of Burgundy white wine Jan 25 2013

WINE isn’t what it used to be, especially white Burgundy. There is no doubt that over the last few decades standards in both vineyards and wineries have risen enormously.Read

Wine society membership grows Jan 18 2013

ONE of the perks of being someone who writes about wine is the chance to whizz off to exotic places, often at someone else’s expense. Next week it’s Verona; last week it was Stevenage.Read

Corbridge wine shop is making a name for itself Jan 11 2013

Corbridge Wines and Spirits is a neat, welcoming, little shop in a prime position in the town’s busy Market Place.Read

Tannat is nectar from foothills of Pyrenees Jan 04 2013

WINE made from certain grape varieties always tastes better in winter. Tannat is one of them. Native to Gascony, it now even makes superb wine in far-flung Uruguay, but its heartland remains the rolling hills at the foot of the Pyrenees in Madiran and Saint-Mont.Read

Good winemaking is all in the blending process Dec 28 2012

ALOT of elements must come together to make a great wine. Top quality fruit is essential, but that’s only possible if a vineyard is grown on the right soil, with the right amount of warmth, sunshine and rainfall.Read

The 12 wines of Christmas Dec 21 2012

ON the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree.Read

Raise a glass to some top Champagne this Christmas Dec 14 2012

CHAMPAGNE is special. There are other fine sparkling wines, not least some delicious English fizz; but nothing quite equals the best Champagne in terms of subtlety, complexity and sheer class.Read

A rich wine that doesn’t leave you with a headache Dec 07 2012

WHATEVER you or anyone else may think about foie gras, the French love it. They consume around 19,000 tonnes every year, much of it at Christmas.Read

A toast to variety and a sense of sheer style Nov 30 2012

ITALIAN winemakers have style, just like their wines. Even in the relatively unfashionable south, some of the wines being made now are the vinous equivalent of the sharp suit and the perfect little black dress.Read

Looking to Bordeaux for some perfect tastings Nov 23 2012

I’M on a bit of a Bordeaux roll at the moment. My bags are packed for a visit to some leading estates in the Médoc, Pomerol and Sauternes, and I’m much looking forward to the Dine with Bordeaux event tomorrow at Newcastle’s Café 21 that I reported on last week.Read

Autumn’s a pressing time for York vineyard owners Nov 09 2012

REPORTS in the press of the failure of this year’s English grape harvest are a little exaggerated. Yields were down in many vineyards, but even in North Yorkshire, healthy, ripe grapes made it to the press and will make good wine.Read

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