During the past month I have attended three in-depth tastings at Decanter magazine, covering wines and vintages that are just now coming onto the market. These tastings are of course blind, but the vintage and appellations are known, so comparisons are fairly tight. The tasters are drawn from specialists in each region, always a smattering of Masters of Wine (MWs), and wines that have received ..Read More >>

Posted in: Wines, French Wine | Comment (0) >>

Blog: Steven Spurrier

"Our vineyards cover only 4% of the whole region, but represent 34% of wines sales and 95% of the estates are family-owned".  This statement made at a morning conference at Vinexpo (the world's largest wine trade fair) in Bordeaux last June did not refer to the Haut-Medoc, but to the Napa Valley.  Family ownership seemed the over-riding theme to this bi-annual jamboree,

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There is always a hedonistic downside to recession and I don't mean people losing jobs; work is by no means a luxury and no one should ever stoop down so low to afford some. I mean the replacement of the French hand-churned unsalted butter with an industrial spread. I am talking about the Bresse Poulet and the Australian lamb being substituted with local birds and sheep that are too skinny to be kept alive. Recession hits all areas but it leaves the most foul of tastes in the one industry which matters the least to financial people, but where taste itself matters the most - the field of food and beverage.

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Posted in: Wine in India, Wine and Food | Comment (3) >>

Blog: Magandeep Singh

If I had a penny for:

1. Every vineyard manager who tells me his terroir is unique
2. Every wine consumer who told me screw caps are not good for wine
3. Every sommelier who told me he suggests red wine with red meat
4. Every third person with an accent who claims to be a Sommelier
5. Every second person with a laptop and an internet connection who claims to be a wine writer

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Posted in: Wines in India, Wine Awareness | Comment (2) >>

There are two types of travel: the one that enriches you, teaches you about different cultures and customs and broadens your mind. Then there is the other type: the one where the only thing you rack up is frequent flyer miles. Luckily for me, none of my trips are so devoid of joy. Ironically, none of my trips are devoid of rich food and lavish drink either and I always return a man with a

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Posted in: Old World Wines, New World Wines | Comment (0) >>

Spain is one mad country, in a good way of course. I may not understand many things about the Spanish - their love for killing animals, their refusal to effectuate the ban on smoking in public places, their belief that ham is fat-free and even curative, and their denial that Tempranillo can often exhibit an oxidised edge!

I am the first to admit that I know nothing about Spanish wines (or wines in

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Blog: Steven Spurrier

 

My last communication was on The Importance of Comparative Tastings, telling the story of a tasting I organised in Paris in 1976 that compared (blind, of course) California Chardonnays against top white Burgundies and California Cabernet Sauvignons against the finest chateaux from Bordeaux.  This tasting, where a California wine was judged top in both categories, became

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Posted in: Wine Education, New World Wines | Comment (1) >>

If you have been bored enough to follow my writings, then you might have marked that I show rare signs of any improvement at all. Unrelated a comment as that may seem, I just thought I'd put it right there in the beginning. Pity has its fan following too.

But if writing lacks the fervour to move you, just on certain rare occasions, where such an excuse is the best permissible defence, we can

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Posted in: Wine Events, Wine and Food | Comment (0) >>

So here I am in the most metropolitan city in the world, where English has been relegated to an optional language and you can hear more tongues in a single bus ride than Christopher Columbus did on his entire trip. This is London and I am here with a purpose, for a change, that doesn't just involve shopping till my bank feels a minor dent in its holdings, and my accountant has a minor cardiac!

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Posted in: Wine Tasting, Wine Review | Comment (3) >>

Blog: Steven Spurrier

 

One of the great joys of wine lies in comparisons. Even if a type of wine can stand on its own - Champagne is the perfect celebration glass for example - there is no reason not to compare the taste of one Champagne to another, or of Champagnes in general to the excellent sparkling wines made all over the world. Another fascinating comparison is that of a young wine from a

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Posted in: Wine Tasting, Wine Awareness | Comment (1) >>