Simon reports back from a typically exciting Raw fair London, full of new discoveries.
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Amsterdam goes natty, without the geeks
A slightly shorter, amended version of this article appeared last year in Meininger’s Wine Business International, issue 2. It’s neither a hotel, nor is there a golden pheasant on the premises. But those are the least baffling facets of Amsterdam’s Hotel de Goudfazant. Located on a scruffy industrial estate in trendy “Noord” (across the river
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Roberto Henriquez revives Chile’s pipeño tradition
Simon discovers Chile’s ancient pipeño tradition – a South American orange wine style – and one of its modern-day champions, Roberto Henriquez
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The emperor’s nearly new clothes – Vipava’s Rebula
A decade ago, if you could point to the Vipava valley on a map you were probably a paragliding fan. Or you lived there. That’s changing fast though, as the spectacular (and spectacularly windy) valley that runs east-west across western Slovenia becomes increasingly recognised for its over-performing wines. Hitherto, its neighbour to the northwest, Goriška
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Artisan winemakers of Slovenia and Friuli
A brief report on 2018’s Artisan winemakers of Slovenia and Friuli, and details of how to book for the 2019 tour.
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Freedom at scale – Heinrich Graue Freyheit
Anyone who thinks that larger wineries can’t do quality, or show a serious commitment to sustainable, minimal-intervention production methods, should check out the wines from Gernot and Heike Heinrich in Burgenland, Austria. Simon takes a spin through their skin contact range.
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Macerated highlights from the Brda 2nd International Rebula Masterclass
Despite the ever-increasing interest in its output, Slovenia still lacks a nationwide promotional body that is purely focused on wine – the task currently falls to the Slovenian Tourist Board, which tends to focus more on gastronomy. There’s no equivalent to Austria’s peerless Wine Marketing Board, nor directly to Italy’s consorzios or Germany’s VDP. So
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Cosi Casè – a capricious Malvasia di Candia
Every week, Simon selects an orange wine (a white wine made with extended skin contact) that grabbed his attention. View the whole series here. When I first discovered the macerated monolith that is La Stoppa’s Ageno, I made the assumption that it was a bit of a one-off. Like so many assumptions, it turned out to be completely
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Book review: Kevin Begos – Tasting the Past
Simon reviews Kevin Begos’s new book “Tasting the Past – The science of flavor and the search for the origins of wine”
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Gebeshuber Zierfandler – best at 70 years old?
When Johannes Gebeshuber purchased a failing cooperative winery in the heart of Austria’s Thermenregion, his spoils didn’t just include 25 hectares of old vines and a beautiful vaulted cellar. He also became the guardian of an extraordinary wine library, with bottles produced by the Gumpoldskirchenergenossenschaft going back to 1948. Johannes is a generous sort of