Death by Chocolate and other stories
POSTED ON 23/11/2013I first heard of Apothic when the PR for the new California brand from Gallo asked me if I wanted a sample of a wine ‘fusing Old World intrigue with modern sophistication’. It sounded too untrue to be good so I declined. I thought no more of it until, lo, two days later it turned up all sweet and chocolatey at Tesco’s press tasting. Yum, I hear you say.
Phoenixes Rising
POSTED ON 16/11/2013Only ghouls and Majestic Wine could have watched the car crashes of the Oddbins and Wine Rack chains with any satisfaction. Poor judgment by Oddbins’ previous owner and asset-stripping by Wine Rack’s venture capitalists left a disorderly trail of lost jobs, empty-handed customers and second-hand bottle shops in its wake. Their demise left a vacuum in the high street only partly filled by Majestic, Bargain Booze and independents.
Anyone for Sherry
POSTED ON 09/11/2013Missing the recent London Sherry trail, aka tapas bar crawl, didn’t prevent me from taking in the new sherry and cava bar phenomenon that’s adding a dimension to the proliferating tapas bar scene. Hot on the heels of Bar Pepito, Rosita and Copa de Cava comes Drakes Tabanco. Tim Luther and Nigel Howell’s authentic tavern serves excellent Fernando de Castilla sherries from the cask and sells them to take away.
Sauvignon Bland
POSTED ON 02/11/2013Just when I thought it was safe to enjoy the autumn press tastings, I found myself drowning in a sea of troubles otherwise known as supermarket sauvignon. Seven at Morrisons, 11 at Oddbins, 11 at Marks & Spencer, 14 at Asda, and no fewer than 18 apiece at Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. How much sauvignon blanc can one man take? It’s not that I’m against sauvignon per se. It’s just that since it became the default alternative to Bridget Jones’s’ chardonnay, it’s almost impossible to escape from its aisle-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling ubiquity.
