Wink Lorch Wine Travel GuidesCatavino’s well-researched and lively posts about Iberian wine regions make essential reading for any wine lover, especially those planning a wine tour to Spain or Portugal.
Tierra del Vino (do not confuse this with Vino de la Tierra) is yet another small region pretty well overlooked by the wine world. Its full and correct name is Tierra del Vino de Zamora but everyone who lives within its borders calls it Tierra del Vino (land of wine). There are regular discussions over […] Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I found myself in the midst of a blind tasting with five Masters of Wine candidates. I will tell you how I came to be there another time, but part of it was down to my – dare I say childish – love of blind tastings. Once we had spent a […] Continue Reading →
I have issues with Pedro Ximenez. Since my first taste of the raisin-smelling, thick, brown, sugary slop, I struggle with the stuff. The only truly stand-out PX I had last year was the Hidalgo Napoleon Old PX (which is a bit like saying my favourite whisky last year was Lagavulin 16 year-old – yes, it’s […] Continue Reading →
January typically sees hordes of grown-ups and semi-grown-ups persuading themselves to ‘give something up’. Normally, in the case of grown-ups and wine lovers, this means going on the wagon for the month in a vain attempt to persuade themselves that they are not beholden to the bottle and that they are ‘being healthy’. Come February […] Continue Reading →
It’s not often that the fates conspire to have me taste the latest release of Unico twice in as many months and I would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to share my thoughts on what is (I think we can all agree?) Spain’s greatest wine. Of course, there are pretenders but Vega-Sicilia has […] Continue Reading →
I don’t want to encourage wine buying in supermarkets but this will have to be an exception. Two days ago, I stood in front of the serried ranks of bottles on the shelves and, avoiding the usual suspects, went to the end of the aisle where the ‘lesser’ appellations are. This was a supermarket in […] Continue Reading →
Evey year, as well as releasing his guide to the wines of Spain, José Peñin puts on a tasting of the top wines (those that got 94 points or more) in Madrid. Like so many tastings of this type (large room, producers behind tables, indecipherable layout, and too many people) the pointers for those attending […] Continue Reading →
A couple of months ago, wine writer Jamie Goode and I disagreed over an abstract approach to wine assessment. I took the deconstructive stance that one does not need to know any information about a bottle of wine to be able to rate it or appreciate it. Jamie argued that context (where it was made, […] Continue Reading →
As a rule, I do not believe wine writers should encourage companies to spend vast sums of money on building wineries. While it is evident that people cannot help but be swayed by gimmicks like heavy bottles, expensive machinery, labour-intensive winemaking techniques, famous architects and impressive postcodes, if we believe wine writers should cut through […] Continue Reading →
As far as I’m concerned, the job of big brands is to produce good, standard, classic wines of their type and place. Although I haven’t tasted their entire portfolio, and I am still doubtful about some wines, Bodegas Faustino seem to do this relatively well. I say ‘doubtful’ and ‘relatively’ because I’m not entirely sure […] Continue Reading →
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