There’s much more to golf than improving your swing and perfecting putting. Yes, there’s always that primal instinct of sport – the challenge and exhilaration of competition, whether you’re watching or playing. Then there are those who simply enjoy a hit, inhaling the fresh air, soaking up the scenery, exercising the body and brain – socialising, eating… drinking. In absoluteness, the ultimate day of golf goes beyond the greens to which this column observes the neurological receptors, the gustatory and olfactory senses of both amateur and professional golfers all over this planet. We take a cross section of the golfer’s stomach and we probe the visual, the tactile, the fine motor controls of pleasure, going where no golfing publication has been before, right to the dopamine receptors and intestines of – the Golfer’s Palate. Read More >

Is it possible that we may have come across an indicator of who produces the most stylish and elegant pinot noirs – by the very shirt that the vignerons wears? Read More >

Scrolling through the picture downloads this morning I came across this snap of the Wandering Palate outside the hallowed shop front of Berry Bros & Rudd, London. Emphasis is on the outside as I thought best an irreverent and uncouth palate such as mine would not be tolerated inside the shop.

I had decided to hold off on sharing the overwhelming sense of relief that Terry Chellappah was experiencing as he witnessed the raging bushfires come perilously close to his Margaret River property, largely because there still remain a real threat and mindful of the tragedy and devastation of the Victoria bushfires in February, 2009.

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We spent last Christmas in Melbourne and had a great time foraging for food at the Victoria Market; it’s so good to be in a place where the produce is genuine and affordable. Maybe it’s a bit of “the grass is always greener” but I do miss the accessibility to free-range organic poultry and wild game in Australia. Read More >

The Wandering Palate is gloating in his moment of stardom… being ‘guest DJ on the Two Paddocks ‘Team Top 10 Tunes’, following some tough acts from Willem Dafoe, Stephen Fry, Liam Neeson OBE, Toni Collette, Alan Rickman, Jancis Robinson MW, to mention a few… yes, I know not very modest of me but you have self-promote yourself these days as no one else will.

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Steven Spurrier was in town this week for ongoing Singapore Airlines wine selection tastings (he’s been doing it for 22 years!), along with panel colleagues Michael Hill-Smith MW and Jeannie Cho-Lee MW.

As it turned out, it was the perfect opportunity to raise a glass to Spurrier’s innings, 70 not out. Spurrier was in good form and looks nothing like 70,  as he quipped when someone asked if there were going to be more parties, which came out the wrong way, as in meaning other 70th celebrations, he replied, “I’m hoping a least another 10 and 80 is a good number”!

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The Wandering Palate does partake in the occasional beer however not that partial to commercial bilge water that adorns the supermarket shelves and liquor barns. Like wine (grapes), good beer (Ale) starts with good ingredients (hops, malt, yeast, water).

Wine is of course all about a ‘sense of place’ and that all-encompassing aspect the French taught us – ‘terroir’ – which includes man and craftsmanship. Can beer express something as special as a ‘a sense of place’? Well, no if it’s a formulaic brew made under licence all over the planet. However, take a brew like Spitfire – a Kentish Ale – where the hops are from heirloom local varieties, the water drawn from a sole artesian well in Kent and add over 500 years of traditional brewing history, and you have a real story and real beer, or ale as it were.

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Well, as the numbness of our body and brain subsides, it is now feasible to reflect on the Burghound in Asia events.

There were many highlights, although perhaps the star event of the whole program was the Antipodean Grands Crus, and that is saying something when you take in to account the incredible experiences we had,including the Datai resort, Langkawi Island (which you can read about on Sam Neill’s blog, 5 April 2011 Travelling Paddocks Proprietor into the Heart of Darkness).

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Universally desired, there is a burgeoning thirst for wine knowledge and enjoyment. There is also a growing appreciation for artisan wines and viticulture using sustainable practices, organic and biodynamic principals.

What is Biodynamics? “In essence its traditional agriculture, it’s how it was done before the chemical-age came along, and wine’s been around a lot longer than the chemicals have.”  Michael Seresin – Proprietor of Seresin Estate

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