Wijnnieuws

Inspired by a book calling for a soil-based agricultural revolution, Samantha Cole-Johnson went to visit exponents in Napa Valley and Mendocino. Next week – Sonoma. In July 2020, I finished David Montgomery’s Growing a Revolution: Bringing our Soil Back to Life (W W Norton, 2018) and, like many who have read an incredibly well-written and

See Cava becomes geographically specific. Here’s a tasting that augurs well for Spain’s troubled but most famous sparkling wine. Above, Mestres’ doorway. To celebrate the new beginning of a new era for Cava I asked the wine journalist, sommelier and sommelier professor Ramon Francàs to select some of the most representative Cavas. He has more

With Russia very much in the news, Moscow-based Tatiana Zhemaytis, who recently passed the WSET Level 3 in Wines, reports on the progress of wine there. She also includes some Moscow restaurant recommendations. The great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin wrote: Of Veuve Clicquot or Moët Some blessed and fine dry white wine In icy bottle for

Schloss Schmidt in the Ahr Valley has been invaded by another massive consignment of wine samples. See this guide to our comprehensive coverage of Germany's 2020 releases. Above, Dirk Brenneisen's vines in Baden's Markgräflerland. In July 2018 I reported on a new movement of rebel growers in Baden who, to have more freedom in their winegrowing

A socially distanced tasting that managed to squeeze in between London lockdowns. A begloved Tim Sykes is pictured above in the light and airy (read chilly) upstairs of one of London's attractive Lumiere (sic) events venues. We were the early birds. It did get a bit busier later in the day. We all responsibly emptied our personal spittoons into

More escapism (see Travel by bottle) and a survey of what those attending the G7 summit in June may sample. Jonathan Reeve, who took the picture of Padstow harbour above, surveys Cornish food and drink and asked a few interested parties to sum them up in a phrase. ‘Pasties with clotted cream and local cider’ was Cornwall resident, writer and

Nick took off his Marigolds to write this article, a version of which is also published by the Financial Times. As chief cook and bottle washer in our house for the past 40 years, I have long come to appreciate that my tasks do not come to an end when everybody else has left the table. There is the clearing up to do. Over the past year, when

We all desperately need some escapism, don't we? A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Photo taken off the Croatian coast by Inera Isovic on Unsplash.This is the time of year when we would usually be planning our summer holidays but surely only the bravest, most optimistic or the vaccinated are shelling out for flights and

A different sort of Sauvignon, from a region that specialises in it. 2018 from €16.90, 3,340 Japanese yen, £20.90 2017 from €17.50, 20.90 Swiss francs, $24.94, 245 Norwegian kroner, 2,142 roubles Find the 2018 Find the 2017 South-eastern Austria may not immediately spring to mind when you think of Sauvignon Blanc. You are more likely

A cleverly stimulating alternative to the usual marking of the days leading up to Christmas. Towards the end of 2020 an email from UK specialist merchants, Vintage Wine & Port, brought to my attention an excellent idea for an Advent calendar – 24 ports in individual 9-cl bottles from the port house Quevedo. After a little prevarication, given

The final part of Ferran's report on wines of particular interest tasted when he was confined to his Barcelona home by the pandemic. See also Spain 2020 – exciting newcomers and Spain 2020 – established players' news. Above, Sota els Àngels in Empordà in the far north-east of Spain. The 12 wines below are listed in alphabetical order by producer

Since there is such demand for 2019 burgundies and relatively short supply, we're publishing these additional reviews as soon as we possibly can. For the rest of our coverage, see this guide. Vincent Dancer of Chassagne-Montrachet, or rather his drone, is responsible for this picture of the anti-frost candles in Chassagne and Puligny on 14 April

Forty more tasting notes, with prices, and a surprising number of relative bargains. See also this guide to our coverage of 2019 burgundy. Thomas Ventoura of Chablis is pictured above. This long-standing London specialist in Burgundy and German wine Howard Ripley is currently offering a wide selection of 2019 burgundies and, out of the blue

Rob MacCulloch MW, currently a Hawkes Bay winemaker, explains exactly why Lodi’s old vines need saving. These Zinfandel tree trunks were planted, 10 feet (3 m) apart, in the 1940s. California is home to many highly successful winemakers and viticulturists, producing wines of great acclaim. That’s not a claim to make lightly, but few other wine

The first part of a substantial series on wines of the Loire. See also what Tam wanted to eat when tasting these wines. The photograph above, supplied by InterLoire, is of the famous Ch de Chenonceau. The highly efficient organisational power behind my Languedoc marathon tasting last year was Victoria Kukla of Sopexa. During the flurry of emails

The companion piece to today's tasting article … Mid-afternoon cravings for sauerkraut are alarming enough but potentially disastrous when there is a raft of Touraine Sauvignon Blancs in front of you, waiting to be tasted. Sauerkraut is so wine-combative that it doesn't even get a mention in Victoria Moore's Wine Dine Dictionary. Add a hefty

Alder goes out on a limb with some of the highest scores ever, below! The Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area stands apart from all other California wine regions both literally and figuratively. As Paul Draper, the founder and long-time CEO at Ridge Vineyards likes to point out, it is the only coastal California AVA that is not

First various imported European wines under 14%. Now the US extends its 25% tariff to all French and German wines. As someone who owns his share of businesses in the hospitality space, President Donald Trump might be expected to be sensitive to, let alone supportive of, the restaurant and wine industries. Yet one of Trump’s last acts as

The choice of packaging for everyday wine is wider than ever. And more complicated. A considerably shorter version of this article attempting to shine a stronger light on the options is published by the Financial Times. For many of us wine drinkers, our first conscious act towards saving the planet was separating empty bottles from the rest of

Nick predicts a big change in restaurant design. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Above is a corner of the popular bar in The Goring in London. It may seem strange but I wonder whether the implications of this wretched virus on restaurants, and simultaneously how customers will use them once they reopen, could