Grape&Grain
Paul Wedgwood proves prosecco’s pairing prowess
Two online tastings prompt Peter Ranscombe to muse on how well Italian sparkling wine can match to food. THINK prosecco, think aperitif – whether it’s a dinner party or a gallery opening or a glass to kick-off a night out, Italy’s all-conquering bubbles are a popular choice. Yet two online gatherings in recent weeks have…
Read MoreFour of the best wines for game
Peter Ranscombe catches up with Glasgow wine merchant Séverine Sloboda for some recommendations to go with game. SCOTLAND’S open seasons on game birds are in full swing, from ducks and geese through to grouse and partridge. Chefs have been coming up with a host of exciting recipes, from Mac & Wild’s British Game Alliance grouse…
Read MoreWhy buying wine can also mean planting trees
A new project that links buying wine to planting trees has got Peter Ranscombe pondering the environment. IT’S not every day that you open a box of wine and find a tree poking out. Let me explain – the tree in question was a crab apple sappling. And it was sent as possibly the weirdest…
Read MoreA very special whisky – from The Wine Society
Peter Ranscombe tastes the first whisky from the society’s reserve cask selection. WITH a name like “The Wine Society”, it may not be the first place you’d think to look for a bottle of Scotch. But the society – or “The International Exhibition Co-operative Wine Society” to use its Sunday name – has form when…
Read MoreSober October: soda, ‘gin’ and ‘beer’
As ‘Sober October’ gets underway, Peter Ranscombe rounds up some of the latest non-alcohol releases and revisits some old favourites. BETWEEN “Dry January” and “Sober October”, it’s getting harder and harder for a drinks writer to earn a living… so, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The latest month of abstinence is the ideal…
Read MoreHaving a ceilidh with Yalumba’s ‘Caley’
Peter Ranscombe rediscovers ‘the Great Australian Red’ – and suggests some affordable stepping stones along the way. THE world of wine is full of odd phrases: multiple glasses are served in “wine flights”, a liquid that hangs to the side of the glass is said to have “long legs”, and smells can sometimes – kindly…
Read MoreDid my feet make this port taste weird?
His patriotic shorts may have gone viral, but how did the port turn out when Peter Ranscombe helped tread the grapes? TWO years ago this month, me and my saltire shorts stepped into a vat at Quinta do Noval in Portugal to “help” tread the grapes. It’s a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years,…
Read MoreL’Art du Vin launches its wine club
Peter Ranscombe gets a sneak peak at the new wine club from Fife-based merchant L’Art du Vin. A LITTLE dickie bird tells me that Scottish Field readers are fans of wine clubs – and so I have an insider tip for you. L’Art du Vin, a wine merchant based in Fife, has just launched its…
Read MoreLidl hits the spot with French ‘Wine Tour’
Peter Ranscombe bags a bargain with some supermarket stalwarts from France. LIDL’S “wine tours” – six special promotions on limited edition bottles spread throughout the year – can sometimes be a bit hit and miss. I struggled with some of its Spanish wines earlier this year, focusing on its Italian bottles instead. And its new…
Read MoreBill Lumsden catches ‘the one that got away’
Peter Ranscombe sips a slice of Glenmorangie’s new ‘A Tale of Cake’ whisky. EVERY fisherman has a story about “the one that got away” – that salmon or trout or other slippery customer that they just weren’t able to land on the river bank. For Bill Lumsden, director of distilling at Glenmorangie, his equivalent is…
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