Latest reports suggest Portugal's economy can at last look forward to recovery. Yet if the country's fortunes had mirrored those of the Alentejo's wine industry, it would be enjoying the benefits of growth already, writes Justin Keay.
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Whether sake should be drunk warm or cold is the subject of much debate. People unfamiliar with sake have often only experienced it warm, and so believe this is the way it should be served. Some sake fans claim good quality sake should always be served cold and that bad sake is warmed to hide its faults. However, it isn't that simple.
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Peter Ainsworth of Delamere Wines looks back on a week of tasting the finest Burgundies as part of the Les Grand Jour de Bourgogne.
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A gentle breeze sifts scrub as an old orange Russian-made truck wobbles by, threatening to spill its cargo of freshly-hewn boulders. Far away on the periphery of the crater that is this open mine stands a supervisor, surveying István Szepsy Jr. and our troupe of transplanted sommeliers.
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Hands down, the wine I am most excited to have added to the list recently is Château La Lagune 2005. This 3eme Cru Haut-Médoc is on the Home House list for £188.
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Northern Ireland is not generally seen as a hotbed for wine innovation - in fact a recent survey carried out for Wine Business Solutions said the wine scene there was 15 years behind London. But although they're not great in number, Northern Ireland can boast some truly committed and innovative operators.
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Erin Smith talks to Liv-ex director Justin Gibbs about the struggling en primeur and the implications this year's campaign has on fine wine investments
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Chief executive of the drinks charity, The Benevolent, explains how the trade can get behind its new Here to Help campaign
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Jorge Luis Borges famously described the Falklands War as "a fight between two bald men over a comb". Borges' phrase rings in my head as I read about all the recent chatter, hand-wringing and heated debate over the role of the wine critic.
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Erin Smith meets Ross Carter and Will Broadfoot, the brains behind the London Wine Fair, to discover what this year's remodelled event has in store
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Of my experiences as a one-time, hard-nosed news reporter, there is one gruesome memory that still haunts me on an almost daily basis...
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It's probably scant consolation to château owners struggling to sell their wines en primeur right now, but Bordeaux wasn't the only European region that had a difficult vintage in 2013. I was in Rioja last October and the harvest was wet and nail-bitingly late. The skies were some of the darkest I've ever seen in the region.
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Internationally acclaimed winemaker and consultant, Michel Rolland, talks to James Lawrence how he manages to juggle working for 200 wineries around the world, including Chateau Figeac in St Emilion, which he is trying to turn in to a Grand Cru Classe A property.
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A meal, as a life, needs a structure. Like fleeting youth, lingering middle age and then the inevitable gradual decline into fluffy grey forgetfulness, a meal in three courses (or acts) must appetise, sate, and then comfortably conclude, diner high on ferment, with sweet reward...
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Jon Bonné, wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, tells Anne Krebiehl at last week's New California tasting how what constitutes a good American wine is changing radically as new consumers start experimenting more.
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Douglas Blyde talks to Thomas Mooney, first president of the American Craft Distillers Association and co-owner and chief executive of American craft distillery, House Spirits - makers of Aviation gin.
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According to research recently published in journal, "Science", the average human is equipped to differentiate some one trillion odours (999,999,990,000 more than previously thought). Buoyed by these findings, I was keen to apply my apparently amazing snout to the finery at Clos Maggiore's wine club. Tonight's instalment was hosted by Matt Thomas. Formerly a store manager at Majestic Wines, Thomas joined Hallgarten Druitt, as account development manager six months ago. Despite Clos Maggiore's Covent Garden location, Thomas's territory, work-wise and residentially is Dalston where he secured accounts, White Rabbit and Jones & Son, which he highly recommends are worth a visit
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Growers' Champagnes are riding a wave: while Bordelais tasting rooms remained sluggish and empty during this year's en primeur campaign, Champagne had no trouble attracting visitors, says Anne Krebiehl.
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I still remember my first sip of Chablis. It was not a very auspicious occasion. Years ago, when I knew absolutely sod all about wine, I thought I'd show off and order a Chablis from my local restaurant's wine list. "Chablis is world famous," I told my friend, "so it's bound to be good." The bottle duly arrived (I forget the grower) and it tasted, well, like nothing basically. Thin, weedy and tart, the wine was a crushing disappointment and did Chablis a great disservice - like buying an expensive holiday to the Bahamas and ending up at Mrs' Jones guesthouse in Rhyl.
Read more...Stephen Forward, owner of independent retailer Essentially Wine, gets hot under the collar on wine investment. He warns it is just a speculative bubble, since wine has no "inherent value" and that it will "all end in tears".
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