The 1970's and 1980's will not go down in history as a particularly glorious era for vintage port. This is not the place to analyse the root causes in detail, but it is likely that the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides (which increased dramatically with the construction of the patamares) and poor handling and hygiene are collectively to blame. The 1970 vintage was excellent, pro...

Prices for the finest wines have exploded in recent years and there has been much talk about this. There is certainly little joy in witnessing the 'en primeur' price for Château Lafite increase by some 450% from 2008 to 2009 and when Messrs Rothschild see fit to add another 50% for the 2010, it becomes only too clear that wines like these are now only destined ...

It is a confession I am not at all ashamed to make: ElizabethOnFood and I are great fans of the wines of Camel Valley Vineyards in Nanstallon in Cornwall. To our minds, nothing beats a Camel Valley Bacchus Dry with some shellfish on a warm summer's day and when we serve the Pinot Noir Rosé Brut to guests at home blind, they are invariably as impressed with its quality as th...

Does the perfect wine exist? It is a question that seems to be vexing wine lovers all over the world. Many people take Robert Parker's judgement as a benchmark - if he awards a wine 100 points, it must be considered perfect. And by consequence, when they get to (finally) taste such a wine, they expect the Holy Spirit to descend on them. Very rarely however, epiphany will happen when you tas...

Quinta do Noval, Vintage Port, Noval Nacional, Michael Broadbent, Linden Wilkie, Fine Wine Experience, Hans Jorissen, Richard Mayson, Christian Seely, Panny Loucas,

As you will have gathered by now, my wife is the foodie in our home and I am the wino, so to speak. Elizabeth has asked me to write a post about my passion for wine. We have a 4,000+ bottle wine cellar and I guess this begs the question what makes wine so fascinating for me. Well, to put it succinctly: it's terroir! Terroir for some is quite a controversia...

Well, here it is, my first guest's post on my wife's blog. It's about wine temperatures. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to temperatures. It's not about being fussy or pedantic however. Serving wine at the right temperature is essential for enjoying your wine. A red wine at room temperature is usually far too warm; the wine loses its freshness and...