Grape&Grain
Sherry is just the tip of the iceberg at The Macallan
Peter Ranscombe probes the use of sherry casks by one of Speyside’s best known distilleries. ONE word more than any other characterises our national drink – sherry. You spot it on labels, you see it on adverts, you even read it in tasting notes. Yet “sherry” covers a multitude of bases when it comes to…
Read MoreIt’s only natural: first look at Vin Cru, Glasgow’s new wine bar
Peter Ranscombe gets excited about the list at the first natural wine bar in Glasgow – and about its tacos too. GLASGOW’S food scene has developed dramatically since I lived in the city in the mid-noughties, when I was training to become a journalist. Just take a walk through the Finnieston district between the city…
Read MoreSix of the best budget beating festive bottles
Peter Ranscombe picks wines to toast Christmas and Hogmanay without breaking the bank. CHRISTMAS is expensive enough without feeling the pressure to spend a fortune on bottles that – let’s face it – may be quickly forgotten in amongst the feasting and family and friends. If you’re going to sit down and enjoy a bottle…
Read MoreHubble, bubble, (no) soil or subtle: science meets fantasy at The Cauldron Pub
Edinburgh’s magic-themed pop-up bar has gowns, wands and even a hydroponics bay, writes Peter Ranscombe. WHEN a press release lands on my desk announcing the opening of a pub, it’s not often that it carries a disclaimer. “The Cauldron, and The Magic of Things, are broadly inspired by fantasy and science-fiction and is a place…
Read MoreGlasgow has itself a Moët little Christmas
A new Moët & Chandon cocktail tastes just peachy in the Dear Green Place, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. IT MIGHT not be fashionable among wine writers to say it, but I do enjoy a glass of Moët. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of grower Champagnes, the sparkling wines made by farmers…
Read MoreFive of the best beers from Flavourly
Peter Ranscombe picks some of his favourites from craft beer specialist Flavourly. TRYING to choose a pint has become complicated. Wind the clock back 20 years and the choice was simple. If you were standing at a bar then you could have a watery lager, an over-sweet 80 shillings, or that ubiquitous stout from Ireland.…
Read MoreQuintus emerges from the shadow of Haut-Brion
It may have a more famous sibling on the left bank, but Saint-Emilion’s Chateau Quintus deserves some limelight, writes Peter Ranscombe. “I NEVER worry about showing Quintus after Haut-Brion,” shrugged Guillaume-Alexandre Marx, Domaine Clarence Dillon’s sales manager, over lunch at wine-focused private members’ club 67 Pall Mall in London. There’s a perceptible raising of eyebrows…
Read MoreWhy the weather determines the taste of Sauternes
Sweet wine expert Ana Carvalho explores the effect of hot and cold years on the taste of Chateau Suduiraut with Peter Ranscombe. TUCKED away between the Ciron and Garonne rivers in Bordeaux, the Sauternes region produces arguably the most-famous sweet wines on the planet. When the cold waters of the Ciron meet the warmer Garonne…
Read MoreFizz Feast hits new heights
Missed this month’s Fizz Feast in Edinburgh? Peter Ranscombe selects six sensational sparklers from the festival. ONE of the most exciting aspects of Fizz Feast, the celebration of sparkling wine and artisan food, is the sheer variety of bubbles on show. Organiser Diana Thompson, who has been running the fair for the past four years,…
Read MoreAge-worthy South African wines go under the hammer
Peter Ranscombe gets a sneak peak at a collection of older South African wines going up for auction at Christie’s in London this week. ASK different drinkers about how they perceive wines from South Africa and you’ll get a host of different answers. Some will praise the weird and wacky low-intervention wines produced in the…
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