Every Little Doesn’t Help
POSTED ON 24/01/2015As you browse the supermarket aisles in search of a bottle for dinner tonight, spare a thought for the view from the sharp end. That Jacobs Creek or Echo Falls won’t have been assiduously sought out by the supermarket buyer digging for vinous gold in some riverbed or mountain vineyard in the back of the Australian or Californian beyond. As likely as not, it’s been selected by the wine team in the Berkshire, Bradford or Bracknell tasting room based on a simple equation: the bottom line.
Rioja: a wine for all seasons
POSTED ON 17/01/2015In 2004 the American super-critic, Robert Parker, predicted that Spain would emerge as a leader in wine quality and creativity by 2015. He was not far wrong. When he foretold that traditional fine wine regions such as Rioja would play second fiddle to up-and-coming regions, Toro, Jumilla and Priorat, his crystal ball let him down. The fact is that Rioja has more than kept pace with change.
Etna: The Magic Mountain
POSTED ON 10/01/2015Heading from the scruffy, coastal city of Catania in Sicily’s North-Eastern corner, a gentle winding drive up the broad circumference of Mount Etna takes you through towns whose faded grandeur is testament to a bygone era of great prosperity. Like a wisp of cigarette smoke, you soon see a small cloud floating above the majestic summit of the volcano, which, even in early summer, has not yet shed its white mantle of snow.
On Mount Etna
