The Veneto

The Veneto

At Richmond in March and Teddington in April our topic was the Veneto. A large region in North Eastern Italy, the Veneto is home to many famous wines, and the most famous of these were our focus.  We kicked off with Prosecco, and it was very reassuring to see that...

2015 – A busy year ahead

January is normally very quiet in the wine world but 2015 is proving to be the exception! Looking at what is going on over the next 12 months I have barely paused for breath since Christmas. My brand new Cheese Course  filled up in less than 48 hours, I have had a...

Cheese & Wine Matching Tip No. 2

Blue Cheese and sweet wine A personal favourite of mine – it is a surprise to many how fantastic the pairing can be of a rich Roquefort, a creamy dolcelatte or a mature stilton with a high quality dessert wine. Sauternes and Barsac sweeties are delightful as are...

Medal Mania

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) and Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) have become two of the most important wine competitions in the world. April sees a frantic, two week judging fest, where hundreds of the world’s top tasters convene to taste tens of thousands...
Corkage and BYO

Corkage and BYO

I am very lucky, my job requires me to spend a disproportionate amount of time tasting fine wines and matching them with different dishes – often in restaurants. The matters of corkage and BYO (Bring Your Own) often arise and over the years I have discovered that a...