Introduction
Welcome to my wine column where I’ll be taking a look at all things oenological. Here, you’ll find information on the latest trends and gadgets, investment advice, the places to visit and how to get the most out of your plonk.
As an independent wine merchant and importer, my focus has to be on finding wines you won’t see on the supermarket shelves; products from up and coming or forgotten regions and varieties that give us a great drinking experience but also offer excellent value for money. I’ll be sharing my recommendations with you and also inviting your questions and comments which I will aim to answer as succinctly as possible. I have no time for wine snobs – wine is simply about getting maximum enjoyment from what’s in your glass, whatever it might be. My contact details are listed below and do feel free to get in touch any time. There are, genuinely, no silly questions when it comes to wine.
Kicking off
It’s that time of year again. The time when rugby fans from all over the world unite to support whoever’s playing England. The BBC is allowed to air an actual sport (one that doesn’t boil down to who’s the best at exercising). Welsh fans do their best impression of England football supporters by losing all sense of reality and perspective. Journalists coo over an ever improving Scotland team’s ability to pass the ball from one side of the pitch to the other (bravely) whilst flip-flopping wildly from one extreme of opinion to next based solely on the last game they saw. Everyone delights in describing the French as being bursting with élan and unpredictability despite having for some years been international rugby’s most predictably one-dimensional and boring team.
It’s all great fun. No competition in world sport consistently attracts as many fans to games with stadia sold out tens of times over. Even Sky Sports News takes short breaks from analysing the move of Norwich City midfielder Tyrone Leroy to Stoke FC on loan to report on whatever inflammatory cricketing analogy Eddie Jones has made about Scotland’s front row.