Maybe it was my mood – dicky tummies all round chez Woods this week, probably the result of too much birthday cake (Isabella was 10 on Monday) . Maybe it was just the range of wines – a clutch of non-European reds that had been threatening to fall off the […]
Uncategorized
A week at the International Wine Challenge hasn’t diminished my enthusiasm for decent juice. However, a final day of first round judging that saw our panel bin a number of bland, boring wines – fault-free but character-free too – left me craving something decidedly left-field (when did I start using […]
Weird Weekend Whites
The relief of finally being back on proper wines after my session with the brands is immense. Rather than reach for magnums (magna?) of numerous grands crus, I’ve eased myself back into the groove gently, with wines in the £10-£15 bracket. Star of these has been the Château de Fosse […]
Challenged
Found a bottle of Goldwater Cabernet/Merlot 1996 (from Waiheke Island off the coast of Auckland) murmuring on the rack earlier in the week and stood it up for tonight’s rib-eye. It comes from a period where most Kiwi winemakers looking at Bordo styles were OTT with both oak and extraction, […]
Striking Gold(water)
On the always-lively wine pages forum, a member recently asked a question that began ‘I’ve been researching wine-tasting terms…’ He then asked for opinions on a piece he’d done called ‘How to Talk About Wine’ [update – the link’s gone now…]. Let’s just take our wine hats off for a moment, […]
Baffled By Bullshit
The totally inspired USB wine tap may have been a work of fiction, but there’s nothing make-believe about The Wine Rack. While purists may complain that it doesn’t deliver wine at the correct serving temperature, it sounds perfect for Châteauneuf-du-Pap, Brabera d’Asti and of course Bristol Cream.