Fortified Wine. Port, Sherry, Madeira, Vins Doux Naturels, to name the chief protagonists. High in alcohol. Some sweet, some bone dry. A myriad of different styles from a host of different wine producing regions. Some young and fruity, others decades old and...
After years of “winging it” with guests – nodding enthusiastically along with the analysis of the wine at hand and encouraging the conversation back to “New World” wines (namely South-West Australian wines!) as much as possible, I finally decided to do something...
“Niiice”, my friendly Italian waiter declared, as I informed him of my choice of the Chianti Classico. I was relieved and grateful that he spoke reasonable English, but had to suppress a smile as he hurried off to the kitchen, in full bow-tie and tux, like a...
The burly French butcher eyed me suspiciously, as if my accent had betrayed un peu trop de rosbif. He pulled out from beneath the counter an enormous slab of bovine flesh, and sunk his glistening blade into it with a sickening thud. Mon Dieu, I thought to myself, this...
If you’ve ever been to Turkey- you know what I am talking about. When all you want is a nice glass of Pinot Grigio- no, not something that will blow your head off, or have you hanging over a toilet the rest of the following day, but a nice glass of ITALIAN Pinot...
Just last week we were given a marvellous opportunity to taste 3 miniature samples of fabulous Malt Whiskies from a mail order company specialising in the “water of life” in all its various forms, www.masterofmalt.com and their new “Drinks by the Dram” concept. This...
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust provides globally recognised education and qualifications in wines, spirits and sake, for professionals and enthusiasts.
