James Wine & Spirits
Le Miccine: Showing Chianti’s cooler side
Le Miccine winemaker Paula Papini Cook is celebrating her Scottish roots in Tuscany, writes Peter Ranscombe. FOR Scots living abroad, there’s always once thing they miss more than anything else. For some, it’s Irn Bru; for others, it’s haggis. For Paula Papini Cook, the winemaker at Le Miccine in Tuscany, it’s tattie scones. While she…
Read MoreTesco: Seven of the best summer wines
The summer Tesco press tasting gave Peter Ranscombe the chance to select his seasonal recommendations. AFTER press tastings with Aldi and Marks & Spencer, Tesco was the next supermarket chain to unveil its spring and summer selection. I came away feeling more positive about Tesco than I have done for a while. The focus on…
Read MoreEast Coast: Where land meets sea and wine
Peter Ranscombe visits East Coast in Musselburgh to put the restaurant’s wine list through its paces. EVERYONE has their favourite chippies. One of mine used to be The Coral Reef in Musselburgh. My guilty pleasure was its southern fried chicken goujons. Carlo Crolla took over the chip shop in 2002 from his parents, who had…
Read MoreBelvedere vodka: going organic with infusions
Peter Ranscombe tries Belvedere vodka’s new organic infusions range, which kicks off the brand’s full organic conversion. BELVEDERE today unveiled plans to make all its vodkas using organic rye by 2030, starting with its new organic infusions range. The Polish rye vodka’s brand ambassador, Mike Foster, told an online tasting this morning that all the…
Read MoreAldi: Toasting reliable fizzy favourites
Peter Ranscombe salutes Aldi for the consistency of its sparkling wines. SUPERMARKET shopping is – let’s face it – boring. Don your face covering and trudge down the same aisles, week after week, month after month. Pick up the same milk, the same bread, the same giant bag of crisps that you promise yourself will…
Read MoreMarks & Spencer: If you like that, try this…
After the excitement of an in-person wine tasting subsided, Peter Ranscombe found interesting Marks & Spencer alternatives. A PRESS tasting. An actual, real life press tasting. With wines and people and everything. Novelty aside, yesterday’s press preview of spring wines from Marks & Spencer was a great chance to catch-up with the ongoing refresh of…
Read MoreLidl Wine Tour: Bubbles and beyond
Tomorrow’s ‘Wine Tour’ promotion from Lidl includes bubbles from around Europe, writes Peter Ranscombe. PERHAPS – just perhaps – there are a few more reasons to be optimistic. Hugs are back on the agenda, much of Scotland has moved from level three to level two restrictions, and staycations are beckoning this summer. If the weather…
Read MoreAldi v Lidl: Beer festivals go head to head
Peter Ranscombe fetches his bottle opener as he gets to grips with the latest supermarket beer festivals. SUPERMARKET beer festivals are like number 26 buses in Edinburgh. You wait all winter for one and then two come along at once. Lidl’s summer craft beer festival kicked off last week, with Aldi’s spring Scottish beer festival…
Read MoreHolyrood Distillery: A ‘rude’ reawakening in the courtyard
Holyrood Distillery has created a ‘sipping gin’ that’s ideal for its reopened courtyard, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. IN A world with more and more gin, it’s becoming harder and harder to find anything that stands out from the crowd. Yet Holyrood Distillery may have just cracked it. The Edinburgh whisky maker set out to create…
Read MoreWhy South Africa’s wines are ageworthy
Peter Ranscombe gets a sneaky peak at bottles from South Africa going under the hammer at the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction. FEW wine-making countries have such a dual persona in Scottish shops as South Africa. Look in a supermarket and South African bottles are often regulated to the bargain basement shelves. Yet delve…
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