Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs – Book Review This article reviews a new wine book by Ian D’Agata, entitled Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs. It follows on from his indispensable previous book, Native Wine Grapes of Italy. Here D’Agata continues his focus on Italian native grape varieties. This time he shows how these can communicate a unique “somewhereness” in the wines made from them. …
Le Pupille – Delicious Summer Drinking
Le Pupille – Delicious Summer Drinking For many lovers of Italian wine, the Fattoria Le Pupille winery and founder/owner Elisabetta Geppetti will need no introduction. Le Pupille’s name derives from the two farmhouses (the Pupils), located on the top of the hills near the village of Pereta, in the deep south of coastal Tuscany. We are in the Maremma, in a DOCG …
Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2018 for English Wine Week 2020
Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2018 for English Wine Week 2020 This year’s English Wine Week is a little later in the year than usual. It runs from Saturday 20 June to Sunday 28th June. So to tie in with this year’s event, here are my English wine recommendations. The principal feature is the newly released Chardonnay 2018 from the Lyme Bay …
MonteRosola, Emerging Tuscan Star
MonteRosola, Emerging Tuscan Star MonteRosola is a contemporary winery in the hills close to the hilltop town of Volterra in Tuscany. Volterra may be less familiar to some, so let’s start there to understand how MonteRosola and its wines fit into this delightful Tuscan landscape. Volterra claims the title, “the oldest town in Tuscany.” Indeed, various peoples had continuously occupied …
Lockdown Linguine – A Recipe for Social Distancing
Lockdown Linguine – A Recipe for Social Distancing Lockdown Linguine is a delicious, simple pasta recipe, which also happens to be brilliant with a bottle of white wine, and it only takes 10-15 minutes to make. It’s Italian-style, though I don’t know if there’s an Italian name for it. Here it’s called Lockdown Linguine, as much for the alliteration as anything. …
And I've got one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime. Trying to take this all in - I've got one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime. Trying to taste the difference 'tween a lemon and lime, pain and pleasure, and the church bells softly chime.
XTC, Senses Working Overtime, 1982Pedro Ximénez: Discover the Joy of PX
Pedro Ximénez: Discover the Joy of PX Pedro Ximénez (PX) is both a Spanish white grape variety and a particular style of super-sweet dessert wine. PX (the grape) is grown in many Spanish regions and occasionally elsewhere. However, the most outstanding examples of PX (the wine) are arguably from the inland Andalusian wine region of Montilla-Moriles DO. It’s some 45 …
Jerry Cornelius, The Nature of the Catastrophe, Part 2
Jerry Cornelius, The Nature of the Catastrophe, Part 2 Part 2 continues the story of Jerry Cornelius’ wine tasting at Kensington Roof Gardens. Please read Part 1 first if you haven’t already done so. Otherwise, what follows will make even less sense. ————————————– Jerry slowly poured the first wine, Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal, 1900. He read out the label without pausing …
The Nature of the Catastrophe, Part 1
The Nature of the Catastrophe, Part 1 The Nature of the Catastrophe is a short story featuring Jerry Cornelius. Jerry is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, editor and prolific author of both literary and speculative fiction. The character is an adventurer, time-shifter, and incarnation of the Eternal Champion, chosen to balance order and chaos in the Multiverse. Jerry is …
Caol Ila. Try a Dram on World Whisky Day
Caol Ila. Try a Dram on World Whisky Day Pronounce Caol Ila as Cull-eela, Gaelic for the “Sound of Islay”. It’s the name of a distillery on the northeast coast of the Scottish island of Islay. Islay or eela, as the late Iain Banks once wrote, “does not rhyme with outlay”. Islay has the distinction of being one of the five …