Wine Review: Gattinara, Torraccia del Piantavigna 2011

You may never have heard of it, but Gattinara is, like it’s more famous neighbours Barolo and Barbaresco, another Piedmont DOCG for the Nebbiolo grape. Don’t be misled by the colour or nose: pale ruby in appearance and with a delicate quite floral aroma of rose and violets alongside black fruits (cherry and plum), for this belies the tannic power of the grape. On the palate this is dry with a fullish body, high in both alcohol and acidity,…

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In Focus: Chardonnay

Ok, I probably ought to point out first up that I used to be a fully paid up member of the ‘ABC’ (Anything but Chardonnay) Club. Why? Chardonnay (particularly New World Chardonnay) had by the 1990's become a victim of its own success: the fashion being for rich, ripe and over-oaked wines and perhaps unfortunately for me, this was the era of my first exposure to the ‘wonders’ of chardonnay and I shall use the term loosely in these…

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Wine Review: Dereszla Tokaji Furmint, 2016

Less common in the UK than it probably should be is the Furmint grape. Most people know it or have possibly drunk it without realizing, for this is the main grape of Tokaji which is mostly seen on our shores in its sweet form.  However, Furmint is more than capable of turning out some lovely dry wines and this is a great example of that at a truly brilliant price! Pale lemon in colour, the wine has some lovely…

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Negotiating the restaurant wine list

We’ve all done it, gone to a restaurant and treated the wine menu rather like a hot potato, passing it round and round the table – “you want to pick the wine”, “no, please you pick it”, or “I’m easy I’ll go with whatever you think”. Why do we do this? Is it because we’re never sure what pairs well with the food or is being faced with a wine list with nothing particularly recognizable you fall back on trying…

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In Focus – Sauvignon Blanc

Possibly no grape divides opinion as much as Sauvignon Blanc – loved by consumers if not universally by the critics. Just what is it that makes this grape so divisive? Yes, it can be pungent: “Cats Pee on a Gooseberry bush” is just one descriptor often used! Yes, a generalisation is it’s a grape that doesn’t particularly take well to oak so automatically appears to lack the kudos other varieties can command, and yes, in many cases the wines…

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