Family-owned De Martino have a long tradition of winemaking but are also at the forefront of innovation when it comes to discovering Chile’s new wine regions and expressing her diverse terroir… Continue reading

Family-owned De Martino have a long tradition of winemaking but are also at the forefront of innovation when it comes to discovering Chile’s new wine regions and expressing her diverse terroir… Continue reading
We finally arrived at the pretty, white colonial building of El Esteco – a little oasis in a beautiful valley, surrounded by two dramatic mountain ranges. There was a lovely feeling of calm and the heady scent of orange blossom filled the air, wafted from the beautiful series of courtyards and gardens that make up the grounds of the hotel… Continue reading
After crossing the Andes to Santiago, en route to Argentina to judge in the 2011 Vinandino Competition, what better sight than a pisco sour bar? Continue reading
I have had the chance to taste Albert Bichot wines a lot recently and also to visit the Burgundy negociant/wine producer at their base in Beaune and they do keep delivering consistently high quality. Not surprisingly, their winemaker, Alain Serveau, … Continue reading
…wines of passion and soul, something a little rarer than marketeers would have you think.
Standing in the wind-blown, quite austere surroundings of the vineyard with the snow-capped mountains on three sides and the isolated lake at the end of the vineyard, you could feel how the vines had to struggle against the elements to survive unaided by the uncompromisingly thin-looking sandy soil…
Kluge Estate must be one of the most well-connected and well-heeled of the wineries we visited in Virginia; it has deservedly a big reputation for sparkling wine – both the Kluge NV Sparkling and Kluge rosé were drunk at this year’s Clinton wedding. Continue reading
Growing Sauvignon Blanc in Virginia? We’d been told it was impossible because of the climate but here was a winery not only doing it but doing it very well. Here it seems vintages can be swelteringly hot and early (as 2010 was turning out to be), or cold, wet and late (and all else in between). Continue reading
A press trip to visit the wine regions of Turkey in spring sounded like an exciting idea back in the middle of a bleak December and I still felt excited as we were about to depart on the last day of February 2010. I’d even done some homework and tasted a bottle of Kavaklidere Öküzgözü from a local Turkish restaurant/deli. Continue reading
Having just returned from a breathless and breathtaking tour of some of Northern Spain’s less well known DOs on the recent CWW trip, I am filled with even more enthusiasm for ‘hidden Spain’. What attracted me to the trip initially was the allure of visiting DO Cigales and DO Bierzo but I found much more to excite me. Continue reading
The region of Villány-Siklós is one of Hungary’s best red-wine producing areas. Its most important vineyards are located in the villages of Villány, Villánykövesd, Kisharsány, Nagyharsrsány and Siklós. The Continue reading
It had been more than 10 years since I last visited Vinho Verde and I was keen to see all the changes that had taken place. Lying north of Oporto, it has a lush green hilly landscape, and is dissected by fast flowing rivers – more dramatic in scenery the further north you go towards the Spanish border.
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