Late September means it’s party time! Nights draw in and night-life draws us out. Traditionally it’s a time for feasting, with crops being gathered and harvest-time making food abundant. It’s only natural then, that us temperate-climate-dwellers are hard-wired to desire a bit of celebration around now. And who are we to deny our instincts?! […]

Chile is our winemaking nation of the month. With around 75% of its wine produced for export, Chile has had to find its niche in the world market. For better or worse it chose price to be its USP. So for the last 20 years or so, Chilean wines have been synonymous with consistent quality […]

Grenache is another big-hitting red variety. It’s probably most famous for being a key ingredient in ‘GSM’ wines (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wine, or in a supporting role to Tempranillo in Rioja. But it also shines as a single varietal wine from places like Priorat, which produces some of Spain’s most sought-after wines. […]

Last month we mused that Pinot Noir was the ‘King of Red Grapes’. Well, another contender to the throne has to be Cabernet Sauvignon (aka Cab). Why? Well, between Cab and Pinot Noir, you’ve pretty much covered most of the world’s priciest wines. Not that price is always an indicator of quality, but when you have wines […]

Celebrating Caribbean culture almost always involves a drink a’ rum. But what classifies Caribbean Rum? Or Ron or Rhum, depending on your persuasion. Put simply it’s a distilled drink made from sugar, produced throughout countries with shores on the Caribbean Sea. Colonialism here was mainly perpetrated by the British, Spanish and French which gives us […]

Pinot Noir. King of black grapes? Some would certainly argue so. It is, after all, responsible for producing some of the world’s most expensive wines. With its thin skin, tightly- packed bunches, and tendency to prefer quite a small operating window in terms of temperature, Pinot Noir is one of the hardest grapes to grow […]

Friday 12th August heralds the Glorious Twelfth, the day when traditionally Grouse shooting begins (vegans and vegetarians, apologies! Please look away now). So in light of this time-honoured tradition, this week we will explore an unashamedly meat-based theme. Game. It may be a little more expensive than farmed equivalents, but then it’s often a lot […]

Make no mistake, Portugal is not a large country. And yet it manages to produce huge amounts of wine from over 250 local varieties. And it’s not just about sweet, fortified wines. Here we look at a cross-section of what this incredible country has to offer. A wonderful dry white from a more southerly Portuguese […]

There are two basic rules when it comes to pairing wine with cheese: Red goes with hard cheese and white goes with soft. Rennet is a type of fat used in soft cheese-making. It clashes horribly with tannin, which all red wines contain. Tannin is felt as that drying sensation that clings to your teeth […]

They say beautiful wine has to be made in a beautiful place and the South African winemaking regions are picture-postcard-stunning. They are often located near mountains and coastlines where cooling breezes and lower nighttime temperatures help slow down ripening. These stunning settings not only provide conditions for richer, fuller flavours to develop in the grapes […]