International Sherry Week, 2-8 November 2020 International Sherry Week takes place between 2-8 November 2020. Time once again to celebrate Spain’s great gift to the world! There are the floral delights of a chilled Manzanilla or Fino. Or try the nutty notes of an Amontillado and Oloroso. Add the umami flavours of Palo Cortado, or the sweet caramel of PX. …
Vegetarian Haggis – It’s not so Offal
Vegetarian Haggis – It’s not so Offal Vegetarian Haggis? A contradiction in terms. Hold on, not so fast. In the early 1990s, while staying in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, we happened by chance on Macsween’s butcher’s shop. It was there that the late John Macsween built his reputation as a premier Haggis maker. On entering, we discovered his Vegetarian …
Share this Post
Francone – comparing two big Italian red classics
Francone – comparing two big Italian red classics “The best way to arrive in Neive is to skirt the magnificent rows of Nebbiolo lining the road that leaves Alba and passes through Tre Stelle, then Barbaresco.” So wrote the founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini, in 1999. He went on to say, “Towards the end of summer, there is a stupendous array of …
Share this Post
Derthona – Solving a Cult Wine Puzzle
Derthona – Solving a Cult Wine Puzzle This unprepossessing bottle of white wine hides away a genuinely remarkable story worth telling. It has an attractive label, yet that gives away little as to the contents, where it’s from, or just how good it is. In the UK, Italian rare-grape geeks are most likely to recognise it. In Italy, it’s become …
Share this Post
Lightstrike – Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain
Lightstrike – Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain Incidences of lightstrike seem to be becoming an increasingly commonplace wine fault. At least, that’s my experience over the past couple of years. Whether at home, in restaurants, at tastings and even when wine judging. You may have noticed it too, as it’s foul-smelling. Curiously, it’s also a fault that’s less …
Share this Post
Pasión de Bobal Rosado – Last of the Summer Wine
Pasión de Bobal Rosado – Last of the Summer Wine The late August Bank Holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is held on the last Monday of the August. It represents the last gasp of the Summer holidays*. After this comes the Great Return; whether to work, to college or school. Who hasn’t had cause to dread that dreary prospect? And …
Share this Post
Peter Zemmer Riesling and Pinot Noir
Peter Zemmer Riesling and Pinot Noir A recent Wine Alchemy article introduced Weingut Peter Zemmer, from the Alto Adige (Südtirol) region of Italy. It featured his “cru” Pinot Grigio Riserva called Giatl. Rather than reprise that piece here, suffice to say that the Peter Zemmer operation is a family-owned winery in the south of the region, at Cortina ssdv. As is typical …
Share this Post
Louis Pommery England – English Sparkler, French Twist
Louis Pommery England – English Sparkler, French twist Champagne Houses have kept a watchful eye on English Sparkling Wine ever since it started making waves a few years back. What began as rumour became fact when they bought land in Britain for sparkling wine production. Two Champagne Houses well-known for this are Vranken-Pommery Monopole* and Taittinger. Meanwhile, English Sparkling wine is …
Share this Post
Litorale Vermentino – Val Delle Rose, Famiglia Cecchi
Litorale Vermentino – Val Delle Rose, Famiglia Cecchi I recently joined a great online wine tasting presented by Andrea Cecchi. His family wine roots date back to 1893, and they bought their first property in the sixties, which was Villa Cerna in Castellina, Tuscany. However, Cecchi’s enterprise has grown significantly. They now have three other Tuscan estates (another in Chianti …
Share this Post
Nadsat and Newspeak – Words for Wine
Nadsat and Newspeak – Words for Wine Are you self-isolating in Airstrip One, watching our dystopias unfold? Choose from climate emergency, the covid-19 pandemic, surveillance society, social media hate-crimes, fake news, or 1001 other worrisome issues (add your own here). Our world can sometimes seem like it’s becoming a combination of two classic books: George Orwell’s 1984 and Anthony Burgess’s …
Share this Post