Reflecting on the brilliant and bountiful Wellington on a Plate festival held recently, I had the opportunity of frequenting the pop-up Match Wine Bar, a collaboration of 20 wineries from Martinborough, Gladstone and Masterton offering 40 wines by the glass and a pairing menu of 20 small plates created by legendary Chef, Ruth Pretty. Read More >
Radisson New World Hotel, 88 Nanjing Road Shanghai
Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family owned winery, sits firmly in the highest echelon of Australian wineries. It always has. With a dense history dating back to 1849, Yalumba’s wines and story reflect as much about the Australian wine industry as any. Read More >
It’s Summer in the UK and the tasting season is in full swing, with all its peculiarities observes our London correspondent, Alistair Scott Read More >
Amid the tightest security seen for any wine show in the world, the ‘Discover California Wines’ show was held at the Hyatt on the Bund, on Wednesday May 21.
Police, security, scanners and metal detectors were the order of the day, with each guest-and there were plenty-having their bags scanned and being searched. It would make for a great scene in a wine thriller, but alas the security measures were all part of the lockdown in Shanghai due to the 4th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. Read More >
I started writing this piece in December last year, and have only just come back to it, at the end of April 2014. “Writer’s Block” is my excuse; even Shakespeare may have suffered from it. I am self-medicating with a glass of Prosecco as I write. Read More >
In an end of year spate of adding up annual sales figures for our Greater China Trade Guides, our team came to the exciting realization that we are only a few copies away from 888, and you can bet that as an ex-CPA and Hong Kong girl for two and a half decades, I’m not passing up this brush with good fortune! Anyone who wants to help us achieve our grand goal will get a signed copy of any (or all) of the three Guides and we’ll throw in one of our spiffy wine gift bags for all the bottles we know you’ll be gifting over the next few months. Read More >
Tod Dexter knows as much as anyone about this Peninsula and his 2011 releases were a triumph given the difficult vintage conditions that year. In 2012 the weather Gods were much kinder, indeed this looks to have been a very good vintage indeed. Read More >
Our man in Burgundy, Alex Gambal, a vigneron of the English tongue, shares with us his 2013 vintage report giving us a good insight of his toils and what we might expect in bottle. And while you’re there check out the Alex Gambal website www.alexgambal.com for a unique and fascinating story. Read More >
Nothing quite like a wee dram on a cold winter’s night in Melbourne. Starward is a new brand, the latest addition to the growing number of Australian whisky producers, and I came across it due to one of my many personal failings. As the wise people say, the definition of a gentleman is someone who knows how to play the bagpipe, but doesn’t. The Production Manager of New World Distillery, Ian Thorn is accordingly not a gentleman; nor am I. He did however furnish me with a sample and a tour of the distillery. Read More >
