James Wine & Spirits
Mar de Frades: Exploring albarino
Spanish winery Mar de Frades gives Peter Ranscombe a sneak peak at its next wine as it expands further into the Rias Baixas region. SALNES has become winemaker Paula Fandino’s playground. The valley in Galacia – the part of Spain that sticks out above Portugal – is home to her Mar de Frades winery, where…
Read MoreSteve Daniel: Finding wines off the beaten track
Steve Daniel, a buyer at wine importer Hallgarten, is sharing hidden gems from Georgia, Lebanon, and North Macedonia, writes Peter Ranscombe. FEW words make a wine writer’s heart leap like “off the beaten track”. In a world full of pinot grigio and Prosecco, cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc, it’s nice to lift your eyes to…
Read MoreCarmenere: A site within a site within a site
Ventisquero’s new carmenere comes from a very, very specific location in Chile’s Colchagua valley, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. THERE are so many things I won’t miss about the pandemic. The face coverings, the social distancing, the way reporting deaths has been reduced to bland figures each night on the television news. Yet one of the…
Read MoreWhy Clare Valley can’t make enough riesling
Australia’s Clare Valley produces riesling that goes with a wide variety of foods, writes Peter Ranscombe. RIESLING has a dual personality – it’s beloved by the wine trade, yet shunned by many consumers. That doesn’t seem to be such an issue in the Clare Valley, about 100 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia. “The…
Read MoreWine to Dine – August 2021 – Gary Maclean
Seafood recipes by chef Gary Maclean inspire Scottish Field wine columnist Peter Ranscombe to fish out five bottles. IF YOU start writing a list of Scotland’s top ingredients then it’s not going to be long before you begin naming our seafood. From mussels and oysters to scallops and langoustine, our coasts are blessed with world-beating…
Read MoreGlen Scotia: Preview of dunnage tasting whiskies
Glen Scotia is taking its malts festival online again next week – and Peter Ranscombe has had a sneak peak at the whiskies it will serve. TODAY, Campbeltown is home to just three distilleries – J&A Mitchell & Co’s Springbank and Glengyle, and Loch Lomond Group’s Glen Scotia. Wind the clock back to the Victorian…
Read MoreChile: Going beyond the sauvignons
Chile is producing a much wider variety of wines than simply sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. WHEN New World wine producers were trying to break into the UK market, it was handy to have a calling card or two. Australia had chardonnay and shiraz, Argentina had torrontes and malbec. For Chile,…
Read MoreBross x Pilot x JFC: Beer and bagel matching
Mama Bross tells Peter Ranscombe to fill his hole as they pair bagels with beers. FOR some, she’s a social media star whose irreverent videos brightened up lockdown. For others, she’s a visionary who’s bringing together like-minded businesses in Edinburgh. For me, she’s the maker of some damn tasty bagels. Larah Bross launched Bross Bagels…
Read MoreDolomites: Where co-ops are thriving
The Dolomites stand guard over a land of small farms that are proving the co-operative model is alive and well, says Peter Ranscombe. “THESE wines are all about mountains,” explained Diana Thompson as she introduced bottles from Mezzacorona during one of her recent Wine Events Scotland online tastings. That mountain influence shone through in the…
Read MoreWine to Dine – July 2021 – Salt Café
Scottish Field wine columnist Peter Ranscombe picks five bottles to rub shoulder to shoulder with the recipes from Salt Café. SUPPORTING local businesses is more important than ever as Scotland emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. That’s why it was heartwarming to see the recipes from Salt Café in Edinburgh’s Morningside starring in the food feature…
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