Sauvignon Blanc – To Oak or not to Oak?

POSTED ON 19/07/2014

My secret is out: I’m not generally the world’s greatest fan of sauvignon blanc. Like any other grape though grown in a location suited to its character, sauvignon can transcend the one-dimensional nettle, asparagus and gooseberry characters that are its hallmark and mutate into a wine of greater enjoyment.

Cry Fizz for England, Harry and St.George

POSTED ON 12/07/2014

When English Wine Producers showed their wines to the press and trade ahead of English Wine Week in May, it prompted no less a grand fromage than Hugh Johnson to tweet: ‘A score of truly excellent English bubblies [with] the buzz of a historical moment; something unstoppable’. If ‘cry fizz for Harry, England and St. George’ is excessively patriotic for you, I overheard an Italian wine merchant saying to a German sommelier. ‘I am surprised they are so good. They can really compete on quality with the French’.

Popping Up at Olympia

POSTED ON 05/07/2014

I mentioned last month how, in a change of format, the London Wine Fair had moved back from the wastelands of Excel to its old home of Kensington Olympia. This year, the Wine Gang, of which I am one, was charged with hosting a pop-up tasting of 50 of our best value wines of the year to date. We chose 10 wines each and since it was one of the successes of the fair (I know, I would say that, wouldn’t I), I thought it useful to cherry pick a small selection of the most summery and best value wines from the pop-up tasting. For the full list, check out the link at the end.

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