JournalLive - North East Taste

Home Taste Columnists Helen Savage

Organic joins the mainstream

Research carried out for the drinks trade magazine, Off Licence News, shows that sales of organic and biodynamic wine is a huge growth area for independent wine retailers. Read

Quality is no longer a lottery

WE ALL have gaps in our knowledge. One of mine is called Portugal. This is odd in a way, for the very first glass of wine I ever drank was Portuguese. It was Mateus Rosé, and I was 11. As a special Boxing Day treat I was allowed a thimbleful to help wash down my cold turkey and pickles. I felt ever so sophisticated. Read

Go native for a quality quaff

ENGLISH wine growers have just celebrated a very happy Christmas. Not only did they enjoy a huge hike in sales over the run-up to the festivities, but they were handed a timely present on December 19 in the form of an official exclusion by the European Union from reforms which would have prevented any new vineyards being planted in the UK. Read

Less alcohol means more taste

WINE Australia, the industry’s main promo- tional body, marks their national day each year (January 26) with major wine tastings in London and Edinburgh. Read

Cahors – a liquid of distinction

IT used to be called “black wine”. In the 13th Century Cahors already had a reputation in London as a big, blokey red (to this day, there’s no pink or white Cahors). Read

A Burgundy showcase

THERE’S something decidedly sexy about good red Burgundy. Its rich red colour has an invitingly luminous quality; it smells of softly ripe red fruits, with a hint of spice and the subtle bouquet of violets; and then it slides down with a silky, seductive texture and the grown-up flavour of morello cherries in alcohol. Read

Provence is in the pink

SOME regions are famous for red wine, others for white; not many specialise in rosé. The small appellation of Tavel in the southern Rhone Valley is alone in being uniquely pink (if the growers there make red or white wine it’s sold as Lirac). Read

How Red is our valley?

TURN up at just about any restaurant in France and you’ll find Côtes du Rhône on the wine list. Usually – if it’s red – it’s cheap, cheerful and fruity. Nothing special, but a good reliable bet. Read

From the wizards of Oz

IT was an old friend, Colin Davies, who first introduced me to Australian ‘stickies’. As Northern agent for many leading Californian and Australian wineries in the early 1980s, he did much to lay the foundation for the huge success they enjoy today. Read

Rioja is made for food and sharing

WINE tastings can be great fun, but I love being able to take my time and enjoy a fine wine accompanied by good food. Read

French can still give the rest a tasty lesson

WE’LL buy more Australian wine this Christmas than that of any other country. We’ll drink more Chilean and South African than Spanish wine, but the victory of the ‘New World’ is far from complete. Read

We’re getting ready to make merry

SOME people make plans for Christmas with almost military precision. Little is left to chance. The Savage household is not like this. Read

Spice up life with onslaught of red

I LOVE Indian food and have always chosen to wash it down with beer, fruit juice or just plain water. Read

In a glass of their own

I’D be very surprised if there are many restaurateurs in the country who know more about wine than Emily and Tom Sillar. Read

Quality counts in ‘new world’

SOMONTANO ‘under the mountain’ is one of Spain’s most exciting wine regions. The high green river valleys than run south from the Pyrenees (the French border is only 30 miles away) are perfect for growing high quality grapes. Read

Where the treasure comes in a bottle

AUTUMN in Piedmont is wonderful. I love the region, sandwiched between the great industrial cities of Turin and Milan, that produces some of Italy’s finest wine. Read

Culture

Culture - July

THE region goes festival mad in July and we can be thankful for that. It brings a wealth of exciting entertainment to our doorstep.Read

Exclusive!

North East Exclusive

Read the latest on key people and places in the region, to find the perfect restaurant or simply to indulge those designer shopping habits. Click here to visit the Exclusive website. Read