White Bordeaux, dry and sweet wines shine - reflections and tasting notes
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- Published: 23 January 2023 23 January 2023
The whites were very good wines, but incredible value for the quality of the wine when compared to Burgundy or Northern Rhone. They are not the same wines, but they are of excellent quality. Lack of popularity means they offer excellent value. BRENDAN BARRATT reports with notes and "best in show":
Asolo Prosecco - Unmasked and desirable
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- Published: 06 November 2022 06 November 2022
The desire for Prosecco?
In recent years, I have routinely overlooked Prosecco while perusing the wine shelves. Despite spending extended periods of months in Italy, more often I have selected sparklers from Franciacorta or Champagne.
What do Rosé and Bourgogne have in common?
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- Published: 24 October 2022 24 October 2022
Brendan Barrett tastes two rosés with varied responses. But the big question he is asking is whether rosé might actually grow up into something much more revered?
Feeling the summer heat at Tenuta Di Arceno in Chianti Classico, Tuscany
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- Published: 12 October 2022 12 October 2022
Tenuta di Arceno is situated just northeast of Siena and south of Florence in the Municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the Chianti Classico region. The area is picture book Tuscany with rows of vines, orchards, and a relentless daubing of Cyprus trees completing every perspective of the landscape.
French wine brand, Calvet, striving for sustainability, quality & regional diversity
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- Published: 15 September 2022 15 September 2022
I am mostly aware of Calvet for their Bordeaux wines, including a very agreeable Cremant. I was pleased to be sent this selection of wines demonstrating that Calvet is striving to produce France’s regional styles at entry-level prices, and in a sustainably conscious way.
California - Wines On A Mission
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- Written by Brendan Barratt Brendan Barratt
- Published: 24 July 2022 24 July 2022
There were a few good wines but for the price, they were mad. They need a bit less Beach Boys and more Dead Kennedys (maybe even some NOFX or Bad Religion) in the wine-making game over there. Brendan Barratt reports.
Wines of Alentejo strike a Sustainability chord in London
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- Published: 26 May 2022 26 May 2022
On Tuesday 24th May the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP) accompanied by 8 wine producers, came to London to present both the work they have been doing in establishing a rigorous sustainability certification scheme and the certified wines that they are entering into the market.
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Discord in Odesa; pruning at Shabo goes on!
Last week a picture was posted on Twitter of vines in Shabo, a large estate that lies to the west of Odesa on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline. The image seemed benign at face value but the reality, of course, is that the city of Odesa has been bracing itself for attack by Russian forces.
An aperitif by the coliseum
As COVID-19 conspires with the grimmest of winds and rain to force a societal retreat behind our own front doors, the word ennui springs to mind. The muddle of displeasure is pierced when Natalia hands me a large bulbous glass of a liquid I do not recognise.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.
Wine tasting in Galicia: The pilgrims search for Albarino
The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the final resting place of Saint James, rises out of the landscape, infested with antiquity. The rambling steep streets give way to shafts of dramatic light, emblazoned chapels, and tightly packed tapas bars, dusty, as old novels pressed together in antiquarian bookshops.
