Champagne Salon and Delamotte: the 2015 Salon release, and a look at the current Delamotte range
Champagne Delamotte is based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, a grand cru village in the Côte des Blancs. It was founded back
Read more
Features
Icelandic pharma-titan, Robert Wessman of Maison Wessman in Bergerac and his Wine Director, Lise Sadirac, fight for a new Issigeac micro-appellation with musical backing from Nora Jones
Wessman seeks vinous validation for Issigeac and Conne-de-Labarde, which lie on a clearly defined limestone plateau and merit their own micro-appellation according to Vineyard Director Lise Sadirac, who is working hard to convince the INAO. The layered limestone plateau of D’Issigeac took 1.5 million years to form. Vines take a decade to root in the fissured rock, where soil is a mere 20cm deep. Bergerac has 13 appellations and no distinct identity. Fine wine would benefit from a perceptible point of difference and a dose of celebrity stardust.
Read more
The Judgement of Cape Town
Earlier this month I was invited to contribute to The Judgement of Cape Town, a blind tasting of premium Chardonnay
Read more
Weingut Rosi Schuster, with Hannes Schuster, who’s making some of Austria’s best wines
Website: https://www.rosischuster.at/en/ Hannes Schuster is based in Sankt Margarethen on the western shores of Lake Neusiedlersee. Most of his vineyards
Read more
Tomcsányi: natural wines from Somló, Hungary
Website: https://tomcsanyibirtok.hu/en I met with Árpád Tomcsányi to taste his wines, which are made from 3 hectares of vines, farmed
Read more
Pharaoh, Athens: a cool vibe, with wood-fired Greek cooking, vinyl and an amazing wine list
Website: https://www.pharaoh.gr/ Pharaoh was an amazing find in Athens: just the sort of place I like eating at. Initial attempts
Read more
Tasting amazing Greek wines at Mr Vertigo, Athens
Website: https://www.mrvertigo.wine/en/ Mr Vertigo is a brilliant wine shop in Athens. It’s also a wine import/agency company, but while they
Read more
Projekt Wildtyp: natural wines from Burgenland, Austria, by an ex-scientist
Website: https://www.projektwildtyp.at/en This is a new winery, now in it’s fifth year. Boris Kovacic was an academic working in microbiology
Read more
Hungary’s wine crown jewel: a masterclass on Tokaji, one of the world’s top sweet wines
Tokaji is one of the world’s great sweet wines, and so it was great to attend this masterclass in Budapest,
Read more
Hungary’s red grape varieties: a masterclass in Budapest
This masterclass looked at Hungary’s red grape varieties, and was presented by two of Hungary’s leading winegrowers. First, Andrea Gere
Read more