French wine labels are notoriously difficult for budding wine enthusiasts to understand. Unlike their new world counterparts which state the wine’s predominant grape varieties on the label, the French traditionally specify the area where the wine was produced and make...
They say that all that glitters is not gold. This is certainly true in the prestigious Spanish wine region of Priorat, where its famous slate and mica soils glisten in the sunlight. The distinctive sparkly brown slate – known locally...
On 27 October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver his Budget and Spending Review to the House of Commons as he seeks to rebalance the books after borrowing billions in order to protect the economy during the Covid pandemic. However, there...
As summer gradually drifts into autumn and leaves start to turn from green into a dazzling array of reds, oranges and golds, we tend to crave more textural, weightier wines with a little more spice. Rather than reaching for a...
The quote “To live outside the law, you must be honest” resonated so much with the founders of the Cortes de Cima winery in the Alentejo region of Portugal that they decided to print it on the labels of the...
There has been much discussion in wine circles in recent years about authenticity and sustainability in winemaking. As these values are becoming increasingly important to wine drinkers, many producers are quick to claim that their wines are ‘authentic’ and/or ‘sustainable’...
When you think of wine producing countries in Europe, Romania, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia don’t necessarily spring to mind. However, some of the nations that were once at the heart of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War are now...
Ranging from the palest pastel pink through to a light cherry red tone, there are probably as many varying shades of rosé wine produced as there are colours on a Farrow & Ball paint colour chart – with a whole...
As we edge towards summer, it is all too easy to forget that much of Northern Europe suffered devastating spring frosts only a matter of weeks ago. A lack of cloud cover over many of Europe’s vineyards on several consecutive...
45 years ago – on 24 May 1976 – wine history was made. A high-powered panel of nine French wine experts took their seats at a blind wine tasting in Paris where some of France’s finest wines, from the hallowed...
