Wines from Moldavia, a quick look and a disappointing tasting

Production and some context According to the OIV and the year 2017 (which are the latest figures available) the wine production of this small country located on the north-west corner of the Black Sea, surrounded by Romania and Ukraine, place it in 20th place amongst the world's wine producers in volume terms. These figures of …

Bubbles around the world (1): David’s choice

Our dear editor in chief (Hervé Lalau, for those who have no idea who runs this sloppy shop), in his great and incommensurable wisdom, has discretly suggested that we tune into the seasonal spirit this week by talking about sparkling wines. I had no particular objection to this, despite the fact that I seem to …

Lou Trempe-Cul (Côtes du Rhône), ça fait rêver…

On croit parfois, voire souvent, que derrière un sobriquet amusant, un peu osé, il n’y a qu’une volonté commerciale, histoire de vendre sa piquette à qui se laisse attraper. Il est vrai que souvent la déception se trouve dans le verre, on ne boira même pas deux doigts des nombreuses cuvées ‘point G’ qui attirent …

Portable Scotland

Misty scene @Vila Nova de Gaia Below: the Douro Valley Having two Portuguese friends visiting Scotland for the first time we thought that despite the beauties of the Scottish Highlands and the West Coast, they might come to feel a little homesick, especially with the shock of coming from 35˚-40˚C Faro to 20˚C max Scotland. …

Bordeaux, ce n’est pas que le vin…

De passage en Gironde, j’ai eu envie d’en savoir plus sur le plus bordelais des apéritifs: le Lillet. La chose était d’autant plus facile que la maison du Lillet, à Podensac, renferme un très beau musée. J’ai ainsi pu me rafraîchir la mémoire (et le gosier, un peu plus tard) au sujet des vertus du …

No, organic-biodynamic-natural is not at all like “in the old days”

Our guests today are our Swedish colleagues and friends Britt & Per Karlsson (BKWine), who go back in time to try and understand today's trends in wine. We often hear people say that organic/biodynamic or “natural” wine growers work the way farmers did in the past. And that's true in some ways. Synthetic pesticides - …

Orange wine for an orange ‘president’

The Orange president in London's Parliament Square...... (above and below) Simon Woolf  – Amber Revolution Last Friday (13th July 2018) London saw the largest ever demonstration against a foreign leader when an estimated 250,000 people marched against the visit of Donald Trump to the UK. There were other demonstrations that day and over the weekend …