SP68 Rosso by Arianna Occhipinti – serious fun Arianna Occhipinti owns 23.5 hectares of vineyards in the south-east of Sicily, near Vittoria. Here is a beautiful land of limestone and sandy soils at around 300 metres in altitude. It’s in complete contrast to Mount Etna further north; flattish land where grapes are just one of the many fruits, and vegetables …
Clos des Réas and the Best Birthday Present. Ever!
Clos des Réas and the Best Birthday Present. Ever! What’s the best birthday present you’ve ever had? I’ll tell you mine. It wasn’t apparent at the time, yet looking back, it acted as a catalyst for my wine life’s subsequent direction. Many years ago, there was a red Burgundy wine tasting in London hosted by Clive Coates MW. I was given …
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69 Love Songs: last year in review
69 Love Songs: last year in review 69 Love Songs. I had a tot up in an idle moment. In 2020, I published 69 articles. 1.33 per week, unusually prolific. It must have had something to do with the pandemic. Why 69? ‘Twas accidental. Or not. I bet you haven’t read them all. Don’t worry, nor have I. But …
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Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020
Tourelles Cinsault – a wine for our times, WOTY 2020 The WOTY (wine of the year) 2020 award from Wine Alchemy goes to Domaine des Tourelles in Lebanon, for their splendid red wine, Cinsault Vieilles Vignes 2017. A wine for our times As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY must taste great. It should also be organic, sustainable, show terroir, …
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Rightweighting Glass Wine Bottles
Rightweighting Glass Wine Bottles Suppose that we had the technology to create a “wonder material” to package wine? It would need some essential properties. For example, it would come from abundant natural materials. And be completely inert, not affect the taste and have the ability to preserve the wine for decades. It would come in a range of shapes and …
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Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve
Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve The Philipponnat family have been winegrowers and merchants in the Champagne region for sixteen generations. Their history dates back to 1522; they were suppliers to the Sun King, Louis XIV. But it wasn’t until 1910 that Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat created their Champagne house, in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. There have been several changes in ownership …
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The Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene (Pt.2)
The Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene (Pt.2) This Part 2 features the Wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Part 1 of this article told the story of this DOCG and why the Prosecco from here is Superiore. Now it’s time to see if the wines to live up to that billing. Winemaking The DOCG regulations allow the sparkling Superiore to …
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Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG (Pt.1)
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG (Pt.1) As nearly everyone knows, Prosecco is an Italian success story that’s now an international phenomenon. Total production of all Prosecco is vast and still growing. Most of it comes from the colossal DOC, some 24,000 hectares of vines in Italy’s north-east, namely in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. The DOC is now making …
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Christmas 2020 – A Dozen Festive Wines!
Christmas 2020 – A Dozen Festive Wines! Happy Christmas to you all, thanks for reading, supporting and encouraging, especially during this challenging year. Here’s the pick of the wines for Chrismas 2020, together with a Christmas Card. This year there are a delightful Baker’s dozen wines recommended for the festive season, all with UK availability. Also, they are sustainable, taste …
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Amaro Montenegro – and a Favourite Quarantini
Amaro Montenegro – and a Favourite Quarantini Suppose Stanislao Cobianchi had followed his father’s wishes and become a Priest. In that case, we might never have had Amaro Montenegro, and the wonderful world of drinks would have been all the poorer. Fortunately for lovers of speciality drinks and cocktails, he preferred instead to go and explore the world. On his …
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