Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023 I hope you like my Yuletide card to you all! Like last year, I remain mindful that living costs stay off the scale. However, unlike the previous year, there’s no overall price cap, but each category includes a “budget” wine. No compromises have been made regarding excellence and value in recommending …
Distinctively Different Collio Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio
Distinctively Different Collio Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio This final report from the Collio DOC features two world-famous grape varieties. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are now household names. Both enjoy huge recognition and commercial success worldwide. Accordingly, both of them have also become popular in the vineyards of Collio DOC. Here, the hillside terroir and Ponca soil create excellent varietal …
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Silvaner Iphofer Kalb from Weinbau Hans Wirsching
Silvaner Iphofer Kalb from Weinbau Hans Wirsching Silvaner is an underappreciated white grape variety, capable of great things when grown in the right place. This example from Weinbau Hans Wirsching may be a half bottle, but it’s so good you’re getting a magnum-sized review! It’s a dry (trocken) white wine from the Franken wine region in Germany, where Silvaner rules …
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Introducing Port – it’s not one drink
Introducing Port – it’s not one drink. Port is a quintessentially British drink, yet it comes in many guises and can be confusing. Port is an entire category of wines rather than one drink. Sales of Port remain stubbornly seasonal, although it’s good at any time of year. However, peak Port is Christmas, which naturally gets the most commercial attention. …
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Borgo Maragliano – Bubbles that Touch the Sky
Borgo Maragliano – Bubbles that Touch the Sky The Galliano family own Borgo Maragliano, a wine estate in Piemonte. It sits 450 metres above sea level (asl) on a natural terrace of the southern Langhe, surrounded by hills reaching over 600 metres. Their glass and steel tasting room seems suspended mid-air and offers breathtaking panoramic countryside views, while the roads here …
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Friulano – Friuli’s Favourite, Collio DOC
Friulano – Friuli’s Favourite, Collio DOC Of all the many authorised grape varieties in the Collio DOC, only Tocai Friulano is grown by all, accounting for a relatively large 15% of the vineyard area. Some of the most outstanding examples of varietal Friulano wines are from the hillsides of the Collio DOC, and it’s usually an essential contributor to the …
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Discovering Dry Sherry, Part 2. May the Flor be with you
Dry Sherry, Parte Dos. May the Flor be With You. Manzanilla, Manzanilla Pasada, Amontillado and Palo Cortado In Parte Uno of discovering dry Sherry, we met Fino and Oloroso. These are entirely different from each other yet they originate from the same base wine. The essential difference between them is that their creation is either by ageing biologically with flor (Fino) or …
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Discovering Dry Sherry, Part 1: Fino and Oloroso
Discovering Dry Sherry Parte Uno: Fino and Oloroso Britain has enjoyed Sherry since the 14th century and was primarily responsible for its subsequent worldwide popularity through merchant trading. It comes in all sorts of dry (and sweet) versions. This first piece focuses on Discovering Dry Sherry, the Vinos Generosos, Spain’s great gift to the world. Part 1 of this article …
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Badia a Corte Riserva – Vinum Florentinum
Badia a Corte Riserva – Vinum Florentinum Take the old Via Roma (SP1) southeast from Florence towards Rignano sull’Arno. After only 10 km, you’ll find Torre a Cona, a magnificent 18th-century Renaissance estate. It makes wine and olive oil and now offers fine dining and hospitality. Torre a Cona is one of the best wine estates in the Chianti Colli …
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Kranz Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Brut Sekt
Kranz Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Brut Sekt Weingut Kranz is a top-quality winery in the German region of the Pfalz (aka Palatinate). It started in 1948 in the south of the Pfalz region, not far from the French (Alsace) border. Today, it’s run by the fourth generation, Boris and Kerstin Kranz. The estate is organic and a member of the prestigious and influential VDP. …
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