I usually associate this time of year at The Brewery in Chiswell Street, EC1 with backslapping, self-referential, corporate award events or boozy 6 Nations rugby lunches – with a host of rugby legends telling humorous anecdotes from their storied past. Well there was certainly a lot of backslapping, booze and food in evidence last week … Continue reading Bella Figura
If there isn’t a collective noun for a select group of Hampshire Vineyards there should be! I’ll start the ball rolling with dazzle or, maybe, exaltation, even, (perchance) richesse… This thought sprung to mind as I surveyed the rapidly filling room at 67 Pall Mall and navigated my way around the elite group of vineyards … Continue reading Take A Pair Of Sparkling Wines (with apologies to W.S. Gilbert)
To Covent Garden for an intimate evening of wine tasting hosted by Nederburg, the South African winery lauded as a top producer of noble late harvest and Cabernet Sauvignon wines https://nederburg.com/our-story/ Nederburg is located between the Berg and Palmiet rivers in Paarl and one of South Africa’s most awarded wineries, with a prize-winning pedigree that … Continue reading Nederburg – South African Wine Tasting
I am a big fan of amaro, vermouths and bitters and so it was with great pleasure I recently became a Beta tester for Asterley Bros as they seek to launch a new product into this competitive market sector. My fellow testers and I are a curious, critical collective and together we help the brothers shape … Continue reading Bitter As Fuck
I came to Franciacorta wine quite by chance, several years ago, on a roadtrip to Lombardy. I was accompanying Nick, a good friend of mine and former Saatchi & Saatchi executive, who had sold his advertising agency and retired to the South of France to collect classic sports cars. We were driving a vintage … Continue reading Scintillating Sparklers
I don’t get invited to as many Burgundy wine tastings as I’d like, more’s the pity. So it was with great pleasure that I accepted an invitation last week from Ourglass to attend a roving journey through some of the highlights of their current Burgundy list. The venue was the majestic Shoreditch Town Hall and … Continue reading Burgundy Highlights from Ourglass Tasting
In my marketing career I have dealt with quite a few High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). Whether this was Premier League footballers – during my time in sports tv; prospective superyacht owners – when trying to flog them extravagant and sleek multi-million pound vessels and media moguls, in the Middle East & Pacific Rim, (whilst … Continue reading “Sweet As If Angels Sang” – (Percy Bysshe Shelley)
My first experience of Portuguese wines occurred back in the 1980’s when I went on an ill- fated vacation there. It was organised by Lord L, (I shan’t disclose his full name, to avoid reprisals!) a dilettante financier, who had the use of a luxury villa – via a friend at Hampton’s, the property company. … Continue reading Portuguese Renaissance – An Odyssey
As a teenager I was introduced to the refreshing and fruity wines from this region back in the days when Beaujolais Nouveau was something of an event in the UK. Each year (on the third Thursday in November) Fleet Street’s finest would compete against one another to be the winning newspaper to race from places … Continue reading How France’s Vin Merde became Vin Must-have
A bold assertion, I know, but hear me out. Who wouldn’t want to drink wines that border Saint-Émilion and, at their best, are rich, round and complex and share the same limestone slopes and grow the same grapes as the grands châteaux of Saint-Émilion. Côtes de Castillon wines offer top value, match their august neighbours … Continue reading Why Côtes de Castillon is the new Saint-Émilion
