James Wine & Spirits
Stars in glasses and on plates at 21212
As a fan of 21212’s food, Peter Ranscombe couldn’t turn down an invitation to try the Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms’ wine pairings. CHEF Paul Kitching cracked the code for good food a long time ago – the proprietor at 21212, the restaurant with rooms on Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace, has held his Michelin star since 2010,…
Read MoreThis Italian red was served at Michelle Obama’s dinner
Peter Ranscombe samples wines from Cantina Goccia in Umbria, which have just landed in Scotland. FEW Italian regions strike such a chord with tourists as Tuscany; from Tony Blair and Terry Wogan to Stevie Wonder and Sting, celebrities have flocked to see its Renaissance art and to walk among its lavender fields and olive groves.…
Read MoreThese gins change colour – but that’s not their best trick
Peter Ranscombe visits the Old Curiosity distillery at the Secret Herb Garden in Edinburgh. TO SAY that there’s been a gin explosion in Scotland is like saying Theresa May has had a tough time with Brexit – the understatement of the century. Glance at the spirits shelf in your local bottle shop or pick up…
Read MoreWhy champagne and fish go swimmingly together
Don’t dismiss sparklers when it comes to food and wine pairings, writes Peter Ranscombe. WHEN is a wine not a wine? When it’s a champagne, of course. While champagne and other bubbles are the bottles of choice for aperitifs to start a meal, seldom do you see fizz being served throughout a dinner. But why…
Read MoreOn patrol at Bon Vivant Companion’s fizz tasting
Edinburgh wine merchant The Bon Vivant’s Companion has plenty of ideas for sparkling wines to grace the Christmas dinner table, as Peter Ranscombe finds out. I PROMISE that I don’t have a favourite wine shop – but if I were to draw up a top ten then The Bon Vivant’s Companion tucked away on Thistle…
Read MoreWINE TO DINE – JANUARY 2019 – LOWER-ALCOHOL WINES
Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe selects five lower-alcohol wines. FEW months appear as bleak as January – the heady excesses of Christmas and Hogmanay are fading into the background and it feels like a long way to go before we can indulge in the whisky-fueled revelry of Burns’ Night. Fear not though; even if the belt…
Read MoreA sparkling education at the Fizz Feast
Today’s Fizz Feast in Edinburgh not only has delicious Champagnes on show but also sparkling wines from around the world, writes Peter Ranscombe. EDINBURGH Academy may be renowned for the sparkling success of its former pupils – with notable alumni ranging from writer Robert Louis Stevenson to physicist James Clerk Maxwell – but it was sparklers…
Read MoreLidl pops-up in Edinburgh with gin range
Peter Ranscombe heads down to the capital’s Castle Street for a preview of the German grocer’s gin range. POP-UPS have become a regular fixture on our high streets, filling empty shops with retailers for a short period of time. They can be a great way for new businesses to dip their toes into the water…
Read MoreWINE TO DINE – DECEMBER 2018 – CHRISTMAS BANQUET
Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks five wines to pair with the Christmas banquet. CHRISTMAS is a time for feasting – celebrating family and friendship over good food and good wine. Taking that feast outside into a location like The Secret Herb Garden in Edinburgh – as Scottish Field did for its December 2018 issue – makes…
Read MoreCalifornia collectin’
The futuristic-looking United States embassy in London played host to the first ‘Collectible California’ dinner, demonstrating how the state’s wines can age, as Peter Ranscombe reports. WHEN wine enthusiasts begin building their collection of bottles, they usually turn to the Old World classics from Bordeaux and Burgundy. But what about California? Can wines from the…
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