Ever been frustrated with Italy and Italian wines? You know they are good and people who have invested the time to learn about them will tell you they are world class (Harpers had three such - Neil Beckett, Josie Butchart and Anastasia Edwards. They could bore for Italy on how great their wines are - sorry guys!), but unless you take time out to read Nick Belfrage's books and comb specialist wine shops, you are encumbered with images and tastes of poor Pinot Grigios and Lambruscos at the cheap end and inferior, pale examples of Chiantis and Barolos higher up.
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Christopher Lockett developed his passion for wine during a year in New Zealand working as a grape picker. On his return to the UK he worked for Oddbins and the Bottle Stop in Edinburgh before opening his own independent wine merchant, Lockett Bros, in September 2004.
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Angela Hayward and Paul Raymonde met in 2002, and discovered that they shared a passion for Italian wines. The couple launched AP Vino in 2004 with input from Angela's stepfather, Fausto Pesci, who worked for many years as a restaurateur, Italian wine consultant, and major importer of Italian wine into Spain and Germany. Last month, AP Vino launched a consumer website, D'Vino, which is also home to The Wine Club of Italy, a scheme that offers mixed cases of wines complete with full tasting notes. AP Vino's portfolio lists 58 wines from 12 producers. Exclusive agencies include La Scolca in Gavi (selected wines), Il Carpino in Friuli, Tenuta di Riseccoli in Greve, and Pinino in Montalcino. A former property developer in Italy, Raymonde is also a well-known cartoonist, whose works have appeared in Punch and Private Eye, among other publications.
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At first sight, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle is an unlikely standard bearer for the wines of Chile. Yet the great granddaughter of the founder of Grand Marnier has been blazing a trail since she first visited the country in 1990.
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Talking to dozens of winemakers on a recent trip to New Zealand, a common topic of discussion was Sauvignon Blanc and what a double-edged sword it has become for the Kiwi industry. Sure, being known as the place that does brilliant Sauvignon' is a coup that gives a small wine country enormous global visibility, but it is also a potential glass ceiling that could stifle other aspects of the New Zealand industry.
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Imam Shahid was born and grew up in London. He attended state primary and secondary schools, and then at the age of 13 decided, with the support of his parents, to undertake theological studies and to become an Imam. During the nine years following this decision, he attended an Islamic seminary in West Yorkshire for five years, followed by periods of study in Pakistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. After his graduation in 1998, he served as a junior Imam in Croydon Mosque and Kingston Mosque in Surrey. He is currently Muslim chaplin at St Mary's Hospital and Kingston Hospital, and is the head of the interfaith department at the Regent's Park Mosque.
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Don't worry if you have no idea where the Mornington Peninsula is, you are in good company: it appears even Robert Parker has yet to discover the region's existence. In his latest review of Australian wines in The Wine Advocate he had space to review 21 wines (yes, 21!) from a single estate - D'Arenberg (McLaren Vale) - and even Oxford Landing came in for a remarkably good assessment.
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Dunell's is an independent, family-owned wine merchant that has been in business for over 100 years. In addition to listing 1,100 lines, Dunell's also supplies wines en primeur and offers storage solutions. Regular tastings and themed dinners keep the events calendar busy. Neil Pinel took over from his father as managing director in 2000.
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An article on volatile sulfur compounds in wine isn't likely to turn many heads. In truth, it's the sort of topic that is filed away as worthy but dull', and only ever gets read by people who are swotting up for their diploma or MW and is then promptly forgotten. Aware of this, I'm willing to strike a deal with readers: if I try my best to cover this otherwise fiercely dull and technical wine science piece in a manner that is both readable and doesn't require any specialist science knowledge, will you try to venture below the first paragraph
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Oz Clarke is one of the best-known names in the wine trade.
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Last year, judges at the Gosset awards, a competition to find the best Champagne list in the UK, found evidence of what they described as shocking, greedy pricing which does little to encourage the uninitiated to try Champagne'.
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With Christmas just a couple of months away, restaurants can get ready for a bumper few months of Port sales.
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Thierry Trigeau, 44, was born in Rouen and has been a sommelier for the past 10 years. His previous experience was with the Brasserie au Theatre in Bordeaux, Restaurant Alexandra in Montreal, Canada, and at Thornbury Castle near Bristol, and he has also spent a short spell as a winemaker at a petit chteau in Bordeaux, near his home in Cadillac. He joined Simpsons, Birmingham's leading Michelin-starred restaurant, in January 2006.
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Basingstoke!' as Mad Margaret says in Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore. She says it to restore herself to sanity whenever she's about to relapse: for Jasper Morris, it's more of a biography. He was born there and lately he's been working there; and its clay-limestone soil (so he says; I have no idea) gives it an affinity with Burgundy, which of course has been the foundation of most of his working life. Neat, no?
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Did you change many things when you took over the business?
This is one of those places where if you change anything you get millions of letters complaining! We've got a very loyal customer base. We have, of course, developed things over the years though, mostly the Scottish elements. My family are from the isle of Barra, so because of my Gaelic heritage I've really encouraged all the staff here to find out more about Scottish products.
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You have just come from speaking to the BBC on issues that you clearly find emotive. What's going on?
The Government has put forward a new proposal that restaurateurs cannot import staff from India who don't speak English. But people who come from Poland, Bulgaria or Lithuania don't necessarily speak English. The restaurateurs are saying it is unfair, because those people who come from remote areas, who might have a particular skill that is lacking here, won't necessarily know the language. I agree you can't survive in this country without English - the Government has a point. But the fact that every single person coming out of the subcontinent of India must speak English I think is very arrogant on the part of the Home Office.
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Young family, new job, rising star within his chosen field. All of these are applicable to Paul Henry, who took over the role of general manager market development at the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) in April this year.
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In the summer of 2006, the barbeques were fired up and bottles of the pink stuff flew off the shelves.
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Although Cyrus Todiwala MBE, owner and executive chef of Caf Spice Namast in the City of London, has been a long-standing supporter of National Curry Week, which this year takes place from 22 to 28 October, he would like to set the record straight about a few things. For starters, he'll have you know, there is no such thing as curry.
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This is a fine Georgian building for your first hotel
Yes, although when we bought it, it was in a real state. It looked beautiful from the outside, but the bathrooms were yellow. They weren't even avocado green - it was a time even before that colour. My mother was concerned at us sinking half a million into the project, and I was pretty worried too, although I reassured her - and myself - with the fact that people would know us from Summer Lodge, the hotel where we were working. Once the new owners started trying to turn Summer Lodge into a corporate venue rather than a place for regulars, we knew we had to leave.
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