Archive for February, 2013
Relight My Sauvignon Fire
The British love affair with Sauvignon Blanc continues apace.
According to new figures from analysts Nielsen, the pungent pleaser has caught up with Pinot Grigio as the best-selling white wine in UK shops. New Zealand has to take much of the credit – or blame, depending on your point of view.
A bumper 2008 harvest resulted in a flooding of the market at low prices of New Zealand wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc. While many consumers couldn’t believe their luck, this ubiquity caused some people (i.e. me) to be, well, rude about its cookie cutter uniformity of shouty aromas and fruit pastille textures.
It seems that producers in Marlborough, the epicentre of Kiwi Sauvignon, are waking up to this. (more…)
It Was A Very Good Year
You can’t deny there’s something very special about tasting a wine from the year of your birth. Especially when you get to my age.
As I don’t come from the sort of family that lays down wine at the birth of a child, opportunities to taste bottles from 1963 are rare.
So, you can imagine the thrill of getting the chance to taste a Vintage Port from that year at a tutored tasting held by Fonseca.
1963 may not have been the vintage of the century for Fonseca – 1927, 1948, 1977 and 1994 were the true stars – but it is still considered by the company as one of the greats. And not just because Adrian Bridge, CEO of The Fladgate Partnership (which owns Fonseca) was also born that year – as was his wife Natasha, who is head blender. (more…)