I waste an inordinate amount of time coaching people on wine. Most of it falls on deaf ears, which irritates me. What’s most annoying is I did not initiate it; people come to me asking for advice – what should I drink? Where do I get it? How much will it cost? Read More >
Sam Weaver loves compost - Photo by Bob Campbell MW - www.bobcampbell.co.nz
Churton Estate is one of the Wandering Palate’s favourite New Zealand wineries and represents a more holistic, artisan side of Marlborough amongst the hordes… I wanted to share their current newsletter which has an excellent article from Bob Campbell MW and some wholesome observations from proprietor and vigneron, Sam Weaver http://www.churtonwines.co.nz/news/spring-newsletter-2012/ Read More >
It is the change in the climate, characterized by long-lasting summer heat and lack of rainfall, which has caused the significant drop in the production of grapes in Italy’s 2012 vintage; for the same reason, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 were low-production years as well. To this must now be also added the limited inventory of wine from previous vintage currently in the cellars of the wineries. In a short space of time, Italian wine has passed from a situation of perennial over-production to one of under-production. Read More >
Must-Have Wines of the Lunar Year USA – White Wine of the Year
Peter Michael La Carrière Chardonnay 2008 – Knights Valley, Sonoma County, California
At the risk of being repetitive, whenever I’m asked what is my favourite wine? The answer is invariably, “The one I haven’t tried yet” and discovery remains my main motivation in my enthusiasm for wine. Moreover, the adage ‘The more you know about wine, the more you realise how little you know’ is pertinent with my lack of knowledge on American wine. Read More >
Must-Have Wines of the Lunar Year - Year of the White Rabbit 2011
The Year of the Dragon begins at 6.24pm, February 4th 2012: To which the Wandering Palate draws a line in the cellar/tasting-notebook and presents a retrospective account of the standout wines of the drinking year – the 2011 lunar drinking year – Year of the White Rabbit. Read More >
Most Auspicious Wine for Chinese New Year 2012
Year of the Black Water Dragon year
Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir 2009 – Waipara, South Island, New Zealand
What auspicious vinous attributes should we be looking for in the year of Black Water Dragon?
I always approach the Wandering Palate ‘Wine Book of the Year’ with trepidation, partly because wine books can be rather droll for the average reader or even wine consumer, notwithstanding research style works are indeed useful. Read More >
Our ‘Wandering Sommelier’ Shalom Chin encounters some Wine Feng Shui in Burgundy, indeed it would appear that Burgundian’s take Chi as a life-force very serioulsy…
Australian Red Wine of the Year
Arlewood La Bratta 2007 – Margaret River, Western Australia
When was the last time you had an Australian merlot that pushed your button?
I came across one that not only aroused my merlot curiosity; it triggered just about every pleasure and sensory neuron in my wandering olfactories and aesthetic and had me reaching for my tasting note book.
USA – Red Wine of the Year
Amongst the plethora of wineries on this planet and ever-increasing choice, or perhaps bewilderment for the consumer, there is a select group of iconic brands and individual winemakers that stand head and shoulders above the rest. They are the benchmark for all other producers and greatly respected by fellow winemakers and equally revered by wine enthusiasts.
In the old world and spiritual home of pinot noir, such names as Domaine de le Romanee Conti and Armand Rousseau in Burgundy are holy. In the new world sanctification goes to Calera Wine Co in California, USA and its legendary proprietor, Josh Jensen, a true pioneer of the Californian wine industry and master of the most precarious of all grapes.
