James Wine & Spirits
Sauvignon blanc day: 9 to try
To mark international sauvignon blanc day, Peter Ranscombe reviews examples from Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. TIME after time, sauvignon blanc keeps topping the charts as the UK’s favourite white wine. Just before the pandemic, Majestic Wine was the latest retailer to shine a light on the grape’s phenomenal success. Sauvignon was its best-selling…
Read MoreWine to Dine – June 2021 – The Harbour Café
Scottish Field wine columnist Peter Ranscombe scours the hills and shores for five bottles to take to the harbour. AS SPRING segues into summer, there’s no better time to visit the coast – or The Harbour Café at Elie, in Fife, which stars in the food feature in June’s issue of Scottish Field magazine. Being…
Read More7 of the best rosés for your bank holiday weekend
If you’re looking for rosés ahead of the May Day bank holiday then Peter Ranscombe has you covered. IS IT really a year since our #stayathome review of rosés? While I’m not counting my sunshine-flapping chickens just yet – especially not for the bank holiday itself – there’s definitely more optimism in the air as…
Read MoreEden Mill: what happens when gin meets wine?
Eden Mill distillery has aged its latest gins in red wine and white wine casks, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. MAKING gin is – relatively – easy. As long as your spirit tastes of juniper then it’s job done, as far as the labelling gods are concerned. But making your gin stand out from the ever-growing…
Read MoreViognier: why the future looks peachy
Viognier has made a comeback from the edge of extinction and now has its own “international day”, as Peter Ranscombe reports. IN A world of oaky chardonnays and acidic sauvignon blancs, viognier ploughs its own furough. Famous for its combination of floral and peachy aromas and flavours, the grape is distinctive on its own or…
Read MoreHonest Grapes: Blending wine with theatre
Wine retailer Honest Grapes has teamed up with theatre company Revels in Hand to mix virtual performances with wine tastings, writes Peter Ranscombe. SO MANY aspects of our lives have gone online during the past year. The trips to the virtual pub; the frustrations of online grocery shopping; the video calls instead of “just popping…
Read MoreExton Park: Tasting the future of English sparkling wine?
Has Corinne Seely created ‘an English Bollinger’ at Exton Park, asks Peter Ranscombe. MOST English winemakers are faced with a simple choice. Make a “vintage” wine labeled with the year in which all the grapes were harvested. Or create a “non-vintage” blend by mixing a small amount of previous years’ wines – “reserve” wines –…
Read MoreHow pinot found a home on the Mornington Peninsula
Australia’s Mornington Peninsula is producing pinot noir in a variety of styles, writes Peter Ranscombe. WINEMAKERS have put up with a lot over the past year. Fewer restaurants to sell their wines, fewer pickers to harvest their grapes, and less sleep as they host Zoom calls for awkward journalists at all hours of the day…
Read MoreNew York, New York: so good, you’ll try its wine twice
Peter Ranscombe explores riesling, chardonnay, and other wine from the Empire State. THINK New York, think skyscrapers, think Broadway, think Sex and the City. But how about, “Think New York, think grapevines?” While Manhatten’s concrete jungle may not be the first place you’d look for vineyards, head inland from the city and there’s a further…
Read MoreLeeuwin and the ‘art’ of wine
Outdoor concerts and a vast art gallery don’t overshadow the quality of Leeuwin Estate’s wine, as Peter Ranscombe reports. MAKING wine is a blend of art and of science. There are the facts and the figures – measuring the ripeness of grapes in Brix or Baumé, controlling the temperature of the fermentation in Celsius or…
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