Blog
Are we drinking less wine?
Apparently wine consumption is in decline globally. Have you noticed that we’re drinking less wine? Or, does it depend on your demographic? The word on the grapevine is that Gen Zs are shunning the booze altogether, Millennials and Gen Xers are moderating and the Boomers and the Elders are pretty much drinking what they’ve always drank.
Rest-or-Ration?
Have you been practicing restoration this January? I have. But the question is… did you practice rest or ration? A rest from drinking this month or did you rationing what you did drink? Or… neither?
Review: Yaatra Restaurant & Bar
The beautiful Edwardian Old Westminster Fire Station is a suitable home for the smart Yaatra restaurant. Matching the style of the fire station building, it’s colourful and neat, like it belongs in a Wes Anderson film, with ornate flourishes to keep the eyes fed with curiosity.
Review: Bar Douro City
What’s the Douro all about? Well, apart from the historic English Port houses, the majestic winding river and the incredible-looking wavy terraces of vines that reach so high they brush the heavens, the Douro is also about food.
A Stay at Denbies Vineyard Hotel
I’ve just had a brilliant stay at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, in the beautiful Surrey Hills. It’s less than an hour’s drive from me and it’s about the same on the train from London. Well worth the journey to be surrounded by rolling hills, vineyards and fresh air.
Review: Sake Seafood Sensations at The Grand Duchess
During the months of October and November, a bevy of restaurants across London have been participating in the Sake Seafood Sensations campaign, which is continuing until the 20th of November. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to discover the breadth of saké and also how it pairs with different cuisines.
Restaurant Review: Ochre
Having opened its doors in April this year, Ochre is the new restaurant at The National Gallery brought to aesthetes and gastronomes alike by the team behind Muriel’s Kitchen.
Competition! Wine is Bottled Poetry in Cairanne + Lirac
Curious about Romanian wine? My discoveries with Cramele Recaș!
Romanian wine is taking the UK market by storm because of the high level of quality from the region at excellent value for money. The vineyards in Romania are located at 45 degrees latitude, which is also known as the “curious parallel” because it crosses some of the most prestigious vineyards in the world, including those of Bordeaux and the Northern Rhône. What this means, to you and I, is that Romania has a pretty perfect climate for making wine.
Churchill’s: A new look for a new era of port and wine
after celebrating their 40th birthday last year, Churchill’s are heading into their next 40 years with a fresh new image, which represents everything that they are about: minimalism (they are proud practitioners of minimal intervention winemaking) and beauty (their high pedigree vineyards are located in the stunning surroundings of the Douro). The new look suits the philosophy of the wines: a fresh take on an established industry.
Discovering Luberon and Costières de Nîmes in the Rhône Valley
At the southernmost part of the Rhône, either side of the valley, you’ll find the appellations of Luberon and Costières de Nîmes. Luberon is on the east side, wedged between Ventoux and Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, and Costières de Nîmes is on the west side, right at the tip of the Southern Rhône, bordering on the Languedoc.
Domaine de l’Arlot Tasting with Geraldine Godot
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a very special tasting and lunch held at Cabotte restaurant. Geraldine Godot, Technical Director and Winemaker at Domaine de l’Arlot, along with Managing Director, Christian Seely, presented her wines for the first time to the UK press, taking us through five years of wines she has made from Clos de l’Arlot, Clos des Forets Saint Georges, Vosne Romanée les Suchots and Romanée Saint Vivant.
The Rosé Wines of Provence: The colour might be pale, but these wines have depth
There is a feeling associated with the Vins de Provence wine region and nothing else seems to sum it up better than the expression, “joie-de-vivre”. It’s the relaxed glamour of a white shirt billowing in the breeze, lazily buttoned in two places down the front. It’s an elbow propped on a table with a hand hanging in the air like an unfinished sentence. Blow-dried hair pushed off the face with huge, round sunglasses and a long, contented sigh.
Review: Amelie’s Wine House
Amelie’s opened to the thirsty London public in July this year. Whatever the current global climate is right now, there’s only one climate in Amelie’s and that’s Mediterranean, specifically southern French. It’s cute, it’s colourful, it’s quaint and it feels like home. Wine “house”, rather than wine “bar”, is exactly right.
Tasting Idda with Gaia Gaja
The pure energy of Etna was what inspired the Gaja family to explore making wine there. Gaia tells us that wines from Etna have a lot of similarities with Barbaresco and Barolo: “they are wines with mystery”. But instead of the reds, they will be focusing on white wines.
Humble Grape Battersea Review
Humble Grape have been pouring thirsty wine lovers unique, distinctive and sustainable wines from small producers for over 10 years now, with venues in Battersea, Fleet Street, Liverpool Street, Islington and Canary Wharf. I was recently invited to visit the Battersea branch to check out the menu and enjoy some of the wines on offer.
CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 2015 launch
C.V.N.E. Short for Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, but pronounced ‘cune’, this is one of the world’s most famous Spanish wineries. They have a 140 year history and have produced some groundbreaking wines in that time, including Spain’s oldest white wine, Monopole, and the first Spanish wine to be named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator. That wine was Imperial - and it’s the reason for this blog.
Quintessa tasting at Hedonism: Exploring vintage variation in Napa Valley
“There’s been talk about how Napa Valley doesn’t have vintage variation,” says Quintessa’s Rebekah Wineburg, with the air of someone with a trick up her sleeve. We’re about to taste four vintages of Quintessa and I have a feeling they’re going to blast that kind of talk out the water.
What is Lambrusco? Discover it all over again with Venturini Baldini
Lambrusco was never meant to be the sugary, low-quality wine that we see getting warm under the lights of a corner shop. It was always meant to be dry and crisp, made from low-yield grapes. Venturini Baldini have been making this premium style of Lambrusco since the 1970s. High in the hills of Emilia, their grape yields are a quarter of those from vineyards in the flat lands below and they use organic and minimal intervention techniques to produce low sulphite, low antihistamine, authentic Emilian wines.
Port, but not as you know it: Pink port and port in a can!
Port is so much more than the velvety, smooth fortified red wine that we know and love - a staple at Christmas, alongside cheese boards or as a wintery night cap - but there are a wealth of varieties to explore, from summer ready Pink Ports that can make the fruitiest cocktails, to light and crisp whites that would be welcomed by all as an aperitif.