Blog
Wednesday Wine Women: @kvltwines
With my partner Matt, a digital creative with a thirst for natural wine, we built a brand around no-nonsense education, inclusivity and environmental concerns - as well as our love of all things metal and macabre. We are hoping to grow our offering of workshops and classes soon.
Exploring Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Wines
Médoc is an appellation prized for producing characterful red wines of excellent value that are accessible, reliable and most of all - enjoyable.
The Cru Bourgeois classification is the promise of expertise and high-quality standards from passionate winegrowers and makers, working towards a sustainable future that champions the quality and essence of the place the vines call their home.
Wednesday Wine Women: @maisonmirabeau
Jeany is responsible for the marketing, new product design and key supplier relations at Maison Mirabeau, as well as being a keen communicator about their life in Provence to the many fans of the brand.
Wine Therapy: Brunello Masterclass with Honest Grapes
A year into lockdown life and Honest Grapes are pros at online tastings and masterclasses. One look at the events page on their website and you’ll see that they are quenching the thirst of wine buffs on a regular basis throughout the month, month after month. Who said that staying at home meant having an empty calendar?
Wednesday Wine Women: @9ouncesplease
A passionate enthusiast of all things wine, Miroki Tong aka @9ouncesplease has tasted her way all around the world, learning from winemakers, experts, and fellow enthusiasts, always eager to talk with someone who shares in her love of the divine drink that is wine.
Defined Wine: The UK’s First Contract-Only Winery
Defined Wine was set up in 2018 by Henry Sugden to make wine for other people. Defined owns no vineyards or brands – they purely act as the vessel to bring their clients’ visions to life, with as little or as much involvement as the client desires. The client defines the experience when it comes to making their wine.
Wednesday Wine Women: @jesslambwrites
Jess spends four days a week working for a London fine wine broker and uses the rest of her time to study for the WSET Diploma. Still only having been in wine for a relatively short time, Jess is excited about what the future may hold - she’s hoping for lots more opportunities to indulge her twin passions for writing and learning.
Kylie Minogue 2020 Côtes du Provence Rosé
Celeb wines do bring something valuable to the wine trade – and that’s their fans. An excited, engaged, bustling marketplace is good for everybody and these wines will be the catalyst for opening up the world of wine for many consumers. Kylie has one of the most popular wine ranges at Morrisons, where her 2020 Côtes de Provence rosé will be stocked exclusively.
Wednesday Wine Women: Miria from @cecchi_winery
After a period as a volunteer in the environmental sector, Miria Bracali followed her instinct and embraced her innate passion for wine. Miria graduated in Chemistry and began her career in wine, starting work at one of the most authoritative companies on the Italian wine scene: Casa Vinicola Cecchi @cecchi_winery. There, she took on roles with increasing responsibility and now she is the Winery Technical Director and Production Manager.
A Tour of Provence with Château Léoube
It was in the summer of 1997 when the Bamfords (from the Cotswolds in England) first set eyes on Château Léoube in Provence. If its scenic beauty is anything to go by, it must have been love at first sight. The image of rusty orange earth, blanketed by lush vegetation, meeting the expanse of blue ocean calms me, even from the page I’m looking at. I am reminded of the utopian Tracy Island from Thunderbirds, as I study the crowd of umbrella pines on the peninsula, seeing how they lean over the edge, peering curiously into the sea. I’m sure if that was the view before my eyes, my heart would have skipped a beat too.
Wednesday Wine Women: Marlize Beyers from @brucejackwines
Marlize is a South African winemaker who lives in Ontario. She splits her time between making wines for @brucejackwines and @thedriftestate in South Africa, consulting in California, Chile and Spain with her wine consulting company, Resolute Wine Works, which she operates with Bruce Jack, and living in Ontario!
Blue Aurora English Blueberry Wine
Did you know that wine doesn’t have to be made from grapes? The definition of ‘wine’ in the Cambridge English Dictionary is ‘an alcoholic drink that is usually made from grapes, but can also be made from other fruits or flowers’. Well, in this case it’s made from blueberries.
Wednesday Wine Women: @notjustvegetarian
Vidya aka @notjustvegetarian is a freelance Wine Advisor/Consultant for restaurants. After many years in management consulting and Banking across India, USA and the UK, Vidya has recently switched careers to focus on her passion of Food and Wine appreciation.
South African Wine Recommendations
The effects of South Africa’s alcohol ban have been catastrophic. The rural communities are among the hardest hit, where tens of thousands of workers are at risk of losing their jobs; many already have. On average, each worker has six dependants to feed and care for, so wine industry job losses will mean serious socio-economic upheaval for many communities.
We can all help to #savesawine by buying it. Here are my South African wine recommendations that you can pop in your shopping basket next time you’re on the high street!
Wednesday Wine Women: @elizabethrosewines
Elizabeth Rose started off as a website, designed to share their passion for English and Welsh wines and to encourage wine lovers to visit the vineyards, meet the families and taste the wine just as they had done. During their journey of discovery, they found difficult to order the wines they wanted at a reasonable price, especially as they weren’t all in one place. They’d identified the problem and they had the solution – to sell the wines themselves!
What to drink with sashimi: An exploration of Japanese wine
When we think of Japanese wine, saké and shōchū perhaps might first spring to mind, as these wines, made from rice (saké), or sweet potato, barley or rice (shōchū), are very much embedded in the drinks culture of Japan. But grapevines have actually been growing in Japan for thousands of years and wine made from grapes is produced in 36 of the 47 prefectures.
Wednesday Wine Women: @juanicultura
Yearning to develop her connection with wine, Juanita started working in the food industry, initially as a Pastry Chef. In this role, she focused on creating recipes, whilst discovering new tastes and learning how to balance flavours. Juanita found this to be fulfilling work, but it was elevated to a whole new level when she started learning about how to pair dishes with wine.
Bruce Jack Wines
Bruce Jack is the fastest growing winemaker-owned South African brand and Bruce Jack, as a person, is that winemaker. As the head winemaker at Accolade (Kumala, Fishhoek and Hardy’s), Bruce has seen the big brands from the inside, but now he’s focusing on his own, one that truly aligns with his values.
Wednesday Wine Women: @oliveandthevine
Jenni is a wine consultant with @oliveandthevine, her first business which was set up at the beginning of the Covid pandemic to help people stay connected and drink great wine, together.
New 2019 Vintage Wines From Weingut Lutz
I’m always happy to be rolling around in wine and I’m delighted to be hanging out with the new 2019 vintage wines from Weingut Lutz. Stefan Lutz (@stefan.rhh) got in contact with me over the summer and sent me some of his wines – the Grundstock range and two of his Lutz wines. I really enjoyed them (you can read my blog from last July on my ‘links page’ link in my bio!) and my overall impression was that these were modern German wines for the global palate: ‘all at around the 13% ABV mark, these are wines that challenge the cool-climate expectations in more ways than one.’ (Yes, I just quoted myself.)