Back in February 2020, just before the world started locking down due to Covid-19, I enjoyed an eye-opening trip round Chilean wine country. These trips are always eye-opening. Chilean wine is a scene seemingly stuck on fast-forward, such is the pace of change and novelty. And...
Is Syrah the Cinderella of South American wine? That's the question I ask at the start of this piece, noting how often Syrah is overlooked in favour of more glamorous rivals (Cabernet, Malbec, Tannat etc). But it's a shame because Syrah has huge potential in South America,...
David & Nadia Aristargos 2018, Swartland, South Africa, 13.5%, (£25, Justerini & Brooks) We cracked open this voluptuous but energising white to mark South Africa’s Heritage Day (24th Sept). You can see a short vid we filmed for the occasion, as below. Many wine industries around the world...
I don't know about you, but one of our greatest pleasures is discovering a wine that's packed full of flavour - but under-delivers on alcohol. And even better if it's reasonably priced. Quite simply, it means we can drink more without falling off our chair or,...
If you think you know Chilean wine, think again. Chile is a wine nation transformed. This is a piece I wrote for The Wine Society. They have a long and venerable tradition of publishing notable wine writers for their members' newsletters and magazines, and now also...
So what would YOU go for if you had to choose three desert island wines? It's the question every true wine lover fears. Yet we gamely took it on in the name of entertainment...
Eyrie Original Vines Pinot Noir 2016, Dundee Hills, Oregon 14% (£80-90, Savage Selection) This was a lockdown wine to remember. And remember we did, because we only had about 100ml of the stuff (whole bottles tend to interfere with memory, we find). That's because this wine was part of...
According to the US parenting website BabyCenter, the girl’s name Chardonnay (with connotations of ‘popularity’) saw its usage peak in the 1990s, at 47 babies per million. Its frequency has declined since, to the point where Parents.com ranked it as the fourth worst baby name...
Exquisite Collection Organic Argentinian Malbec 2019, 13.5% (£6.99, Aldi) This juicy, fresh, easy-going red will give a lot of drinking pleasure. It’s worlds away from the body-builder reds that have fallen out of fashion in Argentina lately. This is upbeat, friendly stuff that also happens to be organic....
Neyen Malbec 2016, 13%, Apalta, Chile (c £50) I wasn’t supposed to taste this wine. The producer was supposed to send another wine. But somehow it was this very particular Malbec – just one of 762 bottles made – that ended up being despatched. Serendipity, I guess you’d call...