This Friday I rushed off at 3.30pm (an impossible time to leave work, I know) for a flight of Barolo going back to 1961. (more…)
November 2006
Monthly Archive
Mon 27 Nov 2006
Some comments on Restaurant critics oblivious of wine lists and a flight of Barolo dating back to 1961
Posted by walter under General Comments[3] Comments
Mon 27 Nov 2006
THE PINOT NOIRS OF WEINGUT FRIEDRICH BECKER
Yes, that’s right: Pinot Noir from Germany, or “Spätburgunder” as it is properly known here. This revered red grape, which is almost exclusively associated with the great wines of Burgundy, has been cultivated in Germany for centuries. (more…)
Mon 20 Nov 2006
This Sunday I attended a tasting of Chateau Margaux organised by the “best wine magazine in the world”, which in the UK is not that difficult, considering that it currently is the only one. Still, their master classes are of high quality and even we in “the trade”, as incredible as it may sound, don’t get the chance to taste a flight of this fabled wine every week. I suspect that lots of people think that when one works in the trade (more…)
Sat 18 Nov 2006
THE WINES OF FILIPA PATO
When mentioning the Portuguese wine region of Bairrada, most people do not exactly jump up. It didn’t mean anything to me either, and I would have remained ignorant about its pedigree, were it not for 6 months of a rather tedious, but very thorough, sommelier training I received in Berlin (more…)
Tue 14 Nov 2006
PARIS HILTON TAKES PROSECCO FOR A RIDE
You may wonder why on earth I have dedicated so much space in my last article to a wine, which for most people is no more than a “cheap alternative” to Champagne. I was driven by a passion to set the record straight, and to demolish some persistent misconceptions, (more…)
Mon 13 Nov 2006
If Pinot Grigio is currently the best selling Italian white in the UK, its success mostly caused by wide availability secured by the supermarkets, combined with a depressingly low price tag, reflecting a neutral, often industrial produced wine, then Prosecco surely will become the next contender, or victim, depending on the point of view taken. (more…)
Thu 2 Nov 2006
The first time I was discussing the above topic along these lines was with Irene Waller and Lisa McGovern, wine maker and marketing manager respectively of Graham Beck (www.grahambeckwines.co.za) (more…)