James Wine & Spirits
Friday night French frolics with Wine Line Scotland
There’s more to French sauvignon blanc than Sancerre and its Loire valley stablemates, as Peter Ranscombe finds out. ZOOM isn’t the only game in town when it comes to online wine tastings. Swipe onto social media network Instagram any time after 5pm and you’ll be confronted with a veritable vineyard full of virtual vino discourses.…
Read MoreThere’s a new beer delivery service in town…
Peter Ranscombe puts The Beer Town’s new delivery service through its paces with a quartet of lighter Scottish brews. REMEMBER pubs? Those were the places where we used to go for a pint of beer and to moan about the fitba. I miss pubs. But one of the few bright spots during the lockdown has been…
Read MoreSix of the best wines for takeaways
All Peter Ranscombe‘s beige dreams came true when he paired wines with takeaways*. SOMETHING really special happens when the right wine is matched to the right food – the two components harmonise and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. As we’ve seen again and again with the Wine to Dine column…
Read MorePaul and Jacine Rutasikwa breathe fresh ‘Liv’ into rum
A new range of Scottish spirits offers no rum deal as far as Peter Ranscombe is concerned. PAUL Rutasikwa may have just restored my faith in liqueurs. While most of our so-called “gin liqueurs” in Scotland fall flat on their faces because the other flavours mask the juniper – the taste of which is the…
Read MoreCovid cocktail culture: pour yourself a wee ‘Quarantini’
Peter Ranscombe dusts off his cocktail shaker to put the ‘Quarantini’ drinks box from Keep Edinburgh Thriving through its paces. IN YEARS to come, we’ll all look back on 2020 and ask each other one question: “Do you remember the last drink you had in a bar before lockdown began?” For me, it was a…
Read MoreHat-trick of excellent reds from Sevslo Wine
Peter Ranscombe gets excited about three organic wines from France imported by Séverine Sloboda, the former sommelier at Glasgow’s The Gannet restaurant. THE closure of bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues has been one of the cruelest results of the coronavirus lockdown – with social distancing making it virtually impossible for many venues to reopen,…
Read MoreScottish rhubarb finds a new home in a soda
Peter Ranscombe samples a new soda made from that most Scottish of ingredients – rhubarb. WHETHER it comes in a tart, in a pie or in a crumble – and with custard or ice cream or cream – rhubarb has won a place in the hearts of many Scots. Our nation’s love affair with the…
Read MoreOne Year No Beer: a lockdown lifeline
Looking to change your relationship with alcohol? Peter Ranscombe reports on a Scottish firm’s online programme. FOR so many of us who have been staying safe at home with no exposure to the coronavirus, it’s been a lockdown of memes. Memes about face coverings, memes about zoom quizzes, memes about TikTok challenges. One set of…
Read MoreArdbeg family’s blaaack sheep goes on trial tonight
Peter Ranscombe grabs his crook as he prepares to meet the black sheep of the Ardbeg Islay single malt family. TO SAY Ardbeg’s fans take their whisky seriously would be an understatement. Earlier this month, after I mentioned that I’d mixed Ardbeg into a daiquiri, one stalwart emailed to describe my actions as “unforgivable”. I…
Read MoreFinding the perfect plot for pinot in Chile
Peter Ranscombe ponders premium pinots from Chile during an online wine tasting with Viña Ventisquero’s Alejandro Galaz. ONE of the – very few – good points about lockdown for me has been rediscovering my passion for pinot noir. Although grenache may have turned my head, pinot will always be my first red wine love. Lockdown…
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