wine news and articles

Local link to some fine Champagne Apr 22 2011

I LIKE wine shops that have bottles open for customers to taste. I like it even more when those bottles are Champagne. When I popped into The Wine Chambers (in Walton Avenue, Tynemouth) last month to buy a couple of wines for a tasting, Lynda Chambers proffered me a glass of Paul Déthune Brut. It was so good that I decided to take the first opportunity to seek out the Déthune family and taste more of their wine.Read

Family have passion for wine Mar 25 2011

GIULIA Lazzarini is export manager of Donnafugata, one of Sicily’s finest wine estates. She hails from the historic city of Ravenna in North East Italy and from a family with a passion for wine, but owes her present position to the years she enjoyed as a student at Durham.Read

Vine dining at El Coto Mar 18 2011

TAPAS hits my spot, but I can never decide which wine to choose – so many different flavours suggest endless possibilities.Read

Top-class wines from the Pacific Northwest Mar 11 2011

THINK wine from the USA and you’ll think California. It’s hardly surprising – more than 90% of all wine made in the USA is Californian.Read

Fairtrade wines are a good deal for everyone Feb 25 2011

FAIRTRADE Fortnight starts on Monday. An impressive selection of Fairtrade wine is already available in most supermarkets, from Argentina, Chile and South Africa.Read

Why this New Zealand wine is something to bleat about Jan 28 2011

TAMRA Washington is a lucky woman. Three years ago she returned home to New Zealand to a job as winemaker at the Yealands Estate, newly-established in the prime wine-growing country of South Island’s Awatere Valley, part of the famous Marlborough region.Read

Making a name in Chablis Jan 14 2011

I UNDERSTAND that sales of fresh fish go up at this time of the year. A friend in the business in North Shields told me: “After all that meat, people look for something a bit lighter.”Read