James Wine & Spirits
English Wine Week: Still waters run deep
While it may be best known for its bubbles, don’t write off England’s still wines, writes Peter Ranscombe, in the latest installment of his English Wine Week series. ENGLISH wine production is dominated by sparklers, with bubbles accounting for 69% of the country’s total output. Yet that remaining 31% is producing some truly exciting still…
Read MoreEnglish Wine Week: Forever blowing bubbles
In today’s installment in his series to mark English Wine Week, Peter Ranscombe examines the style for which England is best known – sparkling wine. COMPARISONS between Champagne and English sparkling wine are inevitable – the same basin of chalk-rich soil that runs through the Champagne region pokes its head up again along England’s south coast.…
Read MoreEnglish Wine Week: Supermarket sweep
For the third article in his series to coincide with English Wine Week, Peter Ranscombe scans the supermarket shelves to find bottles available in Scotland. I LOVE bottle shops; few activities are more fun than browsing their shelves and coming away with a wine I’ve never tried. It’s almost – almost – as good as browsing…
Read MoreEnglish Wine Week: Bottles in Scottish shops
In the second in his series of articles to mark English Wine Week, Peter Ranscombe looks at the bottles available from Scotland’s independent wine merchants. ONE of the biggest stumbling blocks to trying English wine for the first time is finding it on the shop shelves or restaurant wine lists. Walk into most decent-sized bars…
Read MoreEnglish Wine Week: The Scots making English wine
It may say “English” on the label, but there’s a strong Scottish influence on many bottles, as Peter Ranscombe discovers in the first in a series of articles to mark English Wine Week. DROP the phrase “English wine” into conversation with a wine lover and usually one of two reactions will emerge. There’ll either be…
Read MoreSomething for the weekend? Kombucha, giraffes and father’s day
Peter Ranscombe rounds up some of the interesting drinks making appearances this weekend… TOMORROW isn’t just father’s day – it turns out that it’s also world giraffe day. Glenmorangie distillery near Tain is famous for the height of the stills in which it makes its whisky, so it’s little surprise that the Scotch brand has…
Read More‘Not your usual Rioja’ with Miguel of The Green Room
Rioja is one of Scotland’s best-loved wines and, if you know where to look, it can still provide exciting examples, as Peter Ranscombe finds out. HOW do you launch a wine bar during a lockdown? Ghislain Aubertel and Miguel Crunia at The Green Room in Edinburgh may have just found the answer with their online sales,…
Read MorePinot punch-up: New Zealand v Oregon
Who will come out on top in a comparative tasting between Oregon and New Zealand? Peter Ranscombe grabs his whistle to act as referee. ONE grape unites most if not all wine lovers – pinot noir. Its spiritual homeland is Burgundy in France, yet winemakers around the world use the variety to test their mettle, from…
Read MoreCapturing Italy’s character with organic wines
Cantina Tollo is letting local grape varieties shine thanks to organic farming, writes Peter Ranscombe. BEING stuck in a coronarvirus lockdown hasn’t stopped Italian wine co-operative Cantina Tollo from innovating. The Abruzzo-based producer has launched its “biologico” range of five wines that carry both organic and vegan certification. The co-op, which was founded in 1960,…
Read MoreA red refresher course with Lidl
An evening of red wine tasting gave Peter Ranscombe an appetite for exploring more of the discounter’s core range. LIDL’S “Wine Tour” promotions are an addictive wee gimmick – every eight weeks or so, the supermarket chain releases a couple of dozen wines in limited quantities – so when they’re gone, they’re gone. The set that…
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