Grape&Grain
Tigerlily keeps Belvedere’s organic infusions fresh
Cocktails designed by Tigerlily are being served on its new Belvedere Organic Infusions terrace in Edinburgh, as Peter Ranscombe finds out. WILL Edinburgh’s George Street finally be pedestrianised? After years of talk, it looks like the New Town thoroughfare may finally be turned into a European-style boulevard if the city council’s proposals go ahead. Sitting…
Read MoreLidl’s Hortus gin spreads its international wings
The Hortus gins being released tomorrow by Lidl add some exotic overseas touches to the range, as Peter Ranscombe finds out. LIDL’S Hortus gin brand has won many fans over the years – including those who tried it at the German supermarket chain’s pop-up gin club in Edinburgh. Now, its latest releases – which hit…
Read MoreTenuta Sette Cieli: Winemaking without a recipe
Tenuta Sette Cieli winemaker Elena Pozzolini doesn’t follow a recipe in the vineyard or the cellar, writes Peter Ranscombe. WHAT separates a chef from a cook? An inexperienced cook like myself has to follow a recipe line by line to make sure that the same risotto or carbonara or Bolognese appears every time. A chef,…
Read MoreMar de Frades: Exploring albarino
Spanish winery Mar de Frades gives Peter Ranscombe a sneak peak at its next wine as it expands further into the Rias Baixas region. SALNES has become winemaker Paula Fandino’s playground. The valley in Galacia – the part of Spain that sticks out above Portugal – is home to her Mar de Frades winery, where…
Read MoreSteve Daniel: Finding wines off the beaten track
Steve Daniel, a buyer at wine importer Hallgarten, is sharing hidden gems from Georgia, Lebanon, and North Macedonia, writes Peter Ranscombe. FEW words make a wine writer’s heart leap like “off the beaten track”. In a world full of pinot grigio and Prosecco, cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc, it’s nice to lift your eyes to…
Read MoreCarmenere: A site within a site within a site
Ventisquero’s new carmenere comes from a very, very specific location in Chile’s Colchagua valley, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. THERE are so many things I won’t miss about the pandemic. The face coverings, the social distancing, the way reporting deaths has been reduced to bland figures each night on the television news. Yet one of the…
Read MoreWhy Clare Valley can’t make enough riesling
Australia’s Clare Valley produces riesling that goes with a wide variety of foods, writes Peter Ranscombe. RIESLING has a dual personality – it’s beloved by the wine trade, yet shunned by many consumers. That doesn’t seem to be such an issue in the Clare Valley, about 100 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia. “The…
Read MoreWine to Dine – August 2021 – Gary Maclean
Seafood recipes by chef Gary Maclean inspire Scottish Field wine columnist Peter Ranscombe to fish out five bottles. IF YOU start writing a list of Scotland’s top ingredients then it’s not going to be long before you begin naming our seafood. From mussels and oysters to scallops and langoustine, our coasts are blessed with world-beating…
Read MoreGlen Scotia: Preview of dunnage tasting whiskies
Glen Scotia is taking its malts festival online again next week – and Peter Ranscombe has had a sneak peak at the whiskies it will serve. TODAY, Campbeltown is home to just three distilleries – J&A Mitchell & Co’s Springbank and Glengyle, and Loch Lomond Group’s Glen Scotia. Wind the clock back to the Victorian…
Read MoreChile: Going beyond the sauvignons
Chile is producing a much wider variety of wines than simply sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. WHEN New World wine producers were trying to break into the UK market, it was handy to have a calling card or two. Australia had chardonnay and shiraz, Argentina had torrontes and malbec. For Chile,…
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