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Talking Wine - April 2022
Being a wine merchant I am often asked "what is your favourite wine?". My reply is simply that I don't have one and wine is all about occasion and people. However increasingly I have come to the conclusion that to really enjoy and appreciate a wine you have to be at home or somewhere suitably relaxing and be in a position to concentrate on what you are drinking.
Arran Distillery
Situated east of Islay and the Kintyre peninsula (home of Campbeltown), the Isle of Arran has rugged coastlines, soaring hills, rich farmland and dense forests. The Lochranza Distillery opened in 1995 and, in the nearly thirty years since, has developed renowned global fame for their rich, fruity, crowd pleasing style of single malt whisky.
South African Syrah - How does South Africa stack up against the Northern Rhone?
Have you heard the classic expression about South African wines, 'they have one foot in Europe, one foot in the new world'? While this may seem cliché or like a marketing tagline, when it comes to South African syrah, the expression is spot on.
What does it mean? Wines from South Africa exhibit the savoury dry qualities of old-world wines but with the ripeness and intensity of the new world.
Getting lost in Montalcino: What to expect in a bottle of Brunello
Oxford's rainy weather these past few months has me longing for rich heartwarming food paired with deep red wine. For me, few places do this comforting combination better than Tuscany. A steaming plate of fresh pappardelle with wild boar ragu? Or perhaps, a bowl of rich and beanie ribollita soup would do nicely and what better wine to pair than a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino.
Producer Profile: The Foursquare Rum Distillery
The Foursquare Rum Distillery began its life in the mid-1990s when the R.L. Seale Company purchased the Foursquare Sugar Factory and converted it into a modern distillery.
The Life of an MW Student - Fifteen
'What, there's a stage THREE?' - This is what ran through my head when an email dropped into my inbox about the final part of the Master of Wine qualification. It turns out that I had been so zoned in to preparing for the stage two exams this year that I had completely forgotten that there was more to do after (if!) I pass them.
Daftmill Distillery
Daftmill are a Lowland Whisky distillery based in the county of Fife along Scotland's east coast, north of Edinburgh. The distillery was founded in 2005 by brothers Francis and Ian Cuthbert whose family has been growing malting barley at the Daftmill farm for six generations.
The Life of an MW Student - Fourteen
Under normal circumstances I, like many others in the wine business, attend at least one trade tasting per month. These events may be small, focused on a single agency, region or wine style. They can also be enormous, with thousands of people and even more wines. If time (and covid!) weren't an object, you could be at one of these events every day of the week, so vibrant is the London wine scene.
The Life of an MW Student - Thirteen
Those of you who have been paying attention will remember that a few months ago I wrote about the importance of creating a sustainable study plan. I was full of good intentions. I would spend a manageable amount of time in front of the books. I would go to the gym. Spend time with my husband. Flourish at work. Well, dear reader, I did not. In fact, I did quite the opposite, and unsurprisingly burnt out.
Behind the label with Bodegas Mateos, Rioja Oriental
Formerly known as Rioja Baja, the most easterly sub-region of Rioja never seemed to carry much weight. The word "baja" translates as "lower" and the area was named as such because the altitude in that part of the Ebro Valley doesn't quite reach the heights of siblings Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa to the west.
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