Veronique Drouhin – The Frenchwoman Who Tamed The Wild West    At first sight, Burgundy and Oregon seem more than just half a world apart physically. Oregon sits high up in the Pacific North West of the Unites States of America, a former frontier colony founded on fur and pelts, Oregon is the very model of the Wild West.  Oregon is a Pacific coast … Continue reading Drouhin – The House At Pinot Corner

Reading this announcement I realised that the ongoing and slow-motion horror in Japan which has the world shocked and grieving for the millions affected, has even filtered through to Japan’s small winery business hundreds of miles to the south of Tokyo and our thoughts and prayers  in the greater wine community are with them too. FYI Japan has a small but alluring wine growing tradition … Continue reading Vineyards In Japan – An Expression of Solidarity

“The plant is crying out to us. It wants its DNA, its song to be heard, but we aren’t listening. In the vineyards across the world we are throwing that song away. In the vineyard all these plants are clones, they sing the same song. I am concerned about this and we are changing this in our vineyards. We are letting the new songs come … Continue reading Majorca, Balearic Bottles and the Song Of DNA

Beaujolais, a Nouveau Tale of Vinous Envy and The Despised Grape In just around three weeks time on the third Thursday in November, the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau will depart Burgundy and head for the tables and shelves of wine shops and restaurants around the world. It is one of the most contrived and yet affecting, and commercially effective events of the packed wine … Continue reading Beaujolais, a Nouveau Tale of Vinous Envy and The Despised Grape

Gundpowder, Treason and Rot  Or  How I Learned To Love The Eiffel Tower, Scientific Wines and Sugar While it may sound like something from a Dan Brown novel, in 1986 while performing the usual maintenance the Eiffel Tower, 72 names carved on to the four massive legs of the first floor, were revealed to the world. These huge carved panels of names formed a continuous … Continue reading Gundpowder, Treason and Rot Or How I Learned To Love The Eiffel Tower, Scientific Wines and Sugar