New wave Bordeaux architecture

Back in March I flew over to Bordeaux for a whistle-stop tour of some of the most eye-catching modern wineries in the wine world. This was a mini-reprise of my first book - Wineries with Style, an attempt to look at and talk about wine from...

Chapel Down Bacchus 2018

Chapel Down Bacchus 2018, 12.5%, England (from £12, Sainsbury's, Ocado, Waitrose) Bacchus is a fascinating grape. It's originally from Germany but the UK seems to have co-opted it as its own and now it's England's answer to Sauvignon Blanc - aromatic, tangy and seemingly able to capture...

Tasting Carmenere

This panel tasting for Decanter magazine focused on Carmenere - a repeat of the exercise from 2017 yet with hardly more conclusive results. Carmenere is a Chilean USP and makes some fine wines there but you can't help but feel the best is yet to come....

The Special Ones…

In which Peter pens a profile of François Massoc, a most unusual Chilean winemaker of French extraction and with a passion for making ambitious, sometimes extravagant, always engaging wines. The piece features profiles of five winemakers by different writers: Fernando Mora MW (Bodegas Frontonio, Aragón) by...

Our favourite wine destinations

When The Sunday Times Travel asked us to do a piece on our favourite wine destinations, our first thought was: hope they're going to give us lots of space. As it happened, they cruelly made us choose only six - three each. Peter plumped for Chile (Casablanca...

Nero Oro Appassimento 2017

Nero Oro Appassimento 2017, 14%, Sicily, Italy (£8.99, Majestic) For those who like their reds a bit smoother and richer, this is for you. It makes a really versatile drinking partner for many dishes – partly because the appassimento (drying the grapes) gives a bit of richness and...

Mas Martinet Bru 2016

Mas Martinet Bru 2016, 14.5%, Priorato, Spain ($39, €18-22, £18.68 Justerini & Brooks) Catalonia is one of our favourite wine regions on the planet. It’s such a beautiful part of the world. Amazing food and wine. Wonderful people. A Mediterranean coastline that veers from the tourisy to the...

Interview: Paul Hobbs

Space. That's where Paul Hobbs wanted to go, as an astronaut. Wine is where he ended up. Described by Forbes as, 'the Steve Jobs of wine', Hobbs is one of the best known international wine consultants, with the likes of Mondavi, Simi and Opus One on...