Tenuta Argentiera – You Got The Silver Tenuta Argentiera is in Bolgheri DOC, a winery in Tuscany at the top of the fine wine podium. From seemingly nowhere, Bolgheri enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame. That was during this century, though now-fêted pioneers sowed the seeds some decades before. Bolgheri is one of several places in Italy where Bordeaux grape varieties make stunning wines. However, it’s known for being the area of Italy where these grape varieties eclipse all others. Consequently, it harbours some of the world’s best examples – Bordeaux blends and monovarietal wines with distinctive ..read more

The Isle of Eigg The Isle of Eigg (Eilean Eige) is one of the Small Isles of Scotland and part of the Hebrides. It lies about 15 km off the west coast of Scotland, to the south of the Isle of Skye. It may only be about eight km long and five km wide, but it’s a singular place. This is partly because Eigg has been owned by its community via the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust for over 25 years. Consequently, buying the island in 1997 was a momentous and historic change. Instead of being at the whim of sole ownership, the Heritage Trust is responsible for the stewardship of the island. This involves ..read more

The world’s your Oyster In Victorian times, Oysters were food for the poor. They were harvested in abundance from around British shores and were cheap. Oysters are a good source of protein, especially valuable when meat is an expensive treat. The situation is very different nowadays—oysters are a costly delicacy, thanks to overfishing and marine pollution. Sadly, many people have yet to experience the delight of a simple platter of fresh Oysters. Like so many foods, they are an acquired taste. Even the thought of eating them raw remains deeply repellent to some, though if you enjoy other seafo ..read more

Morellino di Scansano and Cantina Vignaioli What’s in a name? Morellino di Scansano is in Tuscany’s deep southwest, occupying the central Maremma close to the coast. Much of this area was once wild malarial marshland before humans drained it. So, it was more suitable for horses, cattle, and sheep than vines. This was a poor area with relatively few inhabitants. However, moving inland, the landscape gradually rises in height and changes into rolling green hillsides. These are ideal for vines, which have been here since the Etruscans made and exported wine to Europe thousands of years ago. Today ..read more

I Was A Marmite Baby – Spreading The Love. Love it or hate it. Either way, in the UK, we take Marmite for granted. Like generations before me, I was brought up on the stuff. Seemingly indestructible, an open jar might last for years. However, it survives only a few days in our house. It’s a food that tastes like no other and has become a metaphor for describing polarised opinions. This is my ode to Marmite, and I’m spreading the love around. That iconic dark brown glass jar contains a lovely, thick, dark brown goo described as “yeast extract“. It gets its name from the French stockpot featured ..read more

Vajra Barolo DOCG – Part Two, Red Roses for Me Part One of this article on G.D. Vajra focused on three of their Langhe varietal red wines: Dolcetto, Barbera and Freisa. In Part Two, the focus shifts to feature three Vajra Barolo Cru wines. Each is a different expression of this famous DOCG from the 2019 vintage. As the wine growing is similar for each wine, the differences between the wines are only explicable by the differences in the individual vineyard sites, aka terroir. Barolo DOCG and its MGAs Neither Barolo DOCG nor Nebbiolo needs a lengthy introduction or explanation. In any case, each ..read more

G.D.Vajra Part One, with Three Langhe Reds The G.D. Vajra winery is one of the great Barolo addresses. It lies at Vergne, the highest community in the Barolo DOCG, towering over  Barolo town, three km away. Indeed, one of their best vineyards is nearby, the famous Bricco Viole (the Violet Hill), the westernmost and highest Barolo cru vineyard, at 497m. G.D. VAJRA – Monviso from Bricco Viole And the views from here are breathtaking. Look west to the Alps, dominated by the pyramid-shaped majesty of Monviso. Eastwards. The Barolo DOCG is laid out before you, frequently with its hilltop tow ..read more

Goetheanum Celebrates Centenary of Biodynamics The Goetheanum and the Biodynamic farming community worldwide have cause to celebrate this year. This is because 2024 marks the Centenary of the philosophy and the practice of Biodynamics. In the beginning It all began in 1924. European farmers saw increasing disease and susceptibility in their plants and animals. Furthermore, they already had concerns about the adverse impacts of growing agro-industrial practices, such as new chemical fertilisers. They became convinced there had to be a better way to farm and work with nature. So they approached ..read more

Mi Lugar Rioja from Bodega Queirón is WOTY 2023 The Wine of the Year (WOTY) 2023 award from Wine Alchemy goes to Bodega Queirón in Spain for their extra-special red wine, Mi Lugar Rioja DOCa, 2018. As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY must be inspirational. Exceptional taste is a given. But, in addition, the winning wine must be genuinely sustainable, express terroir and the winegrower’s philosophy, and be available to buy in the UK. In short, any WOTY must be a wow! Having tried this wine several times this year, I put my money where my mouth is and bought it, some for drinking now and some to ..read more

Yuletide drinking – a dozen wines for Christmas 2023 I hope you like my Yuletide card to you all! Like last year, I remain mindful that living costs stay off the scale. However, unlike the previous year, there’s no overall price cap, but each category includes a “budget” wine. No compromises have been made regarding excellence and value in recommending any of these wines. There are two sparkling wines, three white, two rosé, three red and two for desserts. The retail prices and UK stockists were correct when published and don’t include seasonal discounts or deals. This Yuletide, why not fill y ..read more