Just back from a nice little trip to Lyon for the weekend. Alongside scouring the wine bars of France's second city, I took part in a spot of judging (Languedoc reds and Swiss reds) at the fairly large Concours de Lyon.
It's a massive competition with a huge amount of samples coming in each year. I heard (my French isn't great) that there were 8000 wines submitted for tasting this year.
Ciliegiolo is a very old red grape variety grown in central Italy, most notably in Tuscany. For a long time it was used as a blending variety in the two Chianti appellations, but there is now a growing list of mono-varietal wines produced exclusively from Ciliegiolo, particularly close to the
Earlier this year, I attended a rare tasting of wines from members of the Association of Historical SuperTuscans. Predominantly hailing from the 2016 vintage, these were a joy to taste and and a reminder that they remain some of the finest wines in the world. As Tuscany’s wine scene
It’s mid afternoon in Eastern Georgia and an October sun loiters in the boundless blue sky. A shimmering heat haze lingers over the Alazani river plain, distorting the vast snow capped profile of the Caucusses. We’re just over 100km from Tbilisi, in the Kakheti region’s principle winemaking
Etna’s evocative landscapes conjure thoughts of vibrant wines that bristle with energy, tart fruit and fiery acidity. The territory is in vogue right now and even with rapidly rising prices the wines are an easy sell. Reds from Nerello Mascalese have driven the recent renaissance, but I predict it