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Irish craft beer: 'Belgian Style' Saison & Foxes Rock
The Crafty Brewing Co label is an 'exclusive' range brewed by the Rye River Brewing Company in Co. Kildare for Lidl Ireland. Their deliciously refreshing Belgian Style Saison (4.8% abv), whatever that...
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June wines of the moment
A mixed baker's dozen (plus) of wines worth taking bad photos of...M&S 'Found' Weißburgunder 2021, Pfalz Germany (12.5% abv): Or Pinot Blanc to use its more familiar French name (Pinot Bianco in...
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Roussillon - the North: 27 reds to knock your socks off (part 1).
This spicy variety of reds features some of my top picks from a Wines of Roussillon tasting in London (in June), and other recommendations from recent wine shopping. These include reds from the 2019,...
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Roussillon - the south & centre: 16 reds to knock your socks off (part 2).
These plush reds represent more of my favourites from a recent Wines of Roussillon tasting in London (part 1: the north, is here). Featuring wines from 2019, 2020 and 2021 plus some more mature or...
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Roussillon: 36 whites and rosés worthy of your fridge (but not at the same...
Hot on the heels of two pieces showcasing 40+ stonking reds from the North and the Centre & South of the Roussillon, it's time to switch the limelight onto some of the region's flavoursome white...
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Roussillon: a dozen Vins Doux Naturels.
The fourth and final part of my summer Roussillon review features a (baker's) dozen Vins Doux Naturels (plural, VDN(s) for short), probably more naturally translated as (sweet) fortified wines, some of...
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A handful of unoaked white wines
A wide variety of five good-value unoaked white wines originally featured on WineWriting.com on Facebook (more photos there):The Winery of Good Hope Chardonnay 2021, South Africa (12.5% abv)....
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10 wines and a cider of the moment.
D'Arenberg The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne 2021 McLaren Vale, South Australia (14% abv): Asda £10 on offer, normally £13. Stylish and unusual full-bodied white, floral nutty and exotic with zesty...
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Malta & Gozo: food, wine and beer.
Not surprisingly perhaps, given their history and proximity to Sicily and southern Italy, Italian cuisine is commonplace in the Maltese islands in all its forms and price ranges. We discovered the...
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Rioja: 15 white wines.
The first of a few tasting reports gleaned from a right royal Rioja tasting in Dublin (by coincidence, Rioja resembles a word in Irish meaning majestic) focuses on white wines. Rioja Blanco was...
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Rioja: reds less than 5 years old.
Part two of this WineWriting.com Rioja feature moves on to red wines - the first instalment highlighted 15 delicious white wines (all tasted in Dublin last month: click/tap to read more). As an...
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Rioja: 5 to 10 year-old red wines.
As promised, the Rioja quest on WineWriting.com has turned increasingly geeky with this selection of 16 smoothing reds aged for 'five to ten years' (in cask and bottle).The focus is the 2014, 2015,...
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New Zealand: 16 Chardonnays & Pinot Gris/Grigios.
New Zealand white wines kick off a new mini-series of postings on WineWriting.com, with further ramblings to follow on red wines - mostly about Pinot Noir and Syrah with some Cabernet Merlots thrown in...
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Rioja: 10 to 20 year-old reds.
This selection of eight gracefully maturing reds in some ways epitomises what many people would consider 'old' cask-aged Rioja to be all about. Although, as seen in three previous posts (Rioja 5 to 10...
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Languedoc and Roussillon: Terroirs & Millésimes 2023
Coming soon: a series of wine tasting and touring reports from a recent trip to the Languedoc and Roussillon will be published here over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I've already posted photos...
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New Zealand Pinot Noir Part 1. South Island: Central Otago, North Canterbury,...
New Zealand Winegrowers Inc - Mishas Vineyard, Central Otago.This stunning shot of Misha's Vineyard in Central Otago reminds us this wine region in the south-of-centre of New Zealand's South Island is...
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Languedoc - Fitou: Domaines du Vent, Bertrand-Bergé, Lérys & Château de...
Nathalie Boyer, Domaine du Vent.The Fitou region nudges against the Corbières hills at the southern edge of the Languedoc before you cross over into the Roussillon, and is split into two parts divided...
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New Zealand Pinot Noir Part 2: Marlborough.
NZW Inc. Yealands.Estate from www.nzwine.comMarlborough region, which occupies a large part of South Island's northeast coast inland from Cloudy Bay, has 'almost 30,000 hectares of vines (2/3 of the...
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Roussillon: Maury focus - red and fortified wines.
Maury vineyards: Maury-aop.fr via uk.winesofroussillon.com.There's no shortage of awesome chunky vineyard vistas like in the photo above around the town of Maury, dramatically and strategically...
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New Zealand: Syrah, Cabernets, Malbec and Merlot.
New Zealand Wine Inc. Craggy Range Syrah.From www.nzwine.com.Syrah isn't the newcomer to New Zealand's vineyards that I imagined it might be, with 'a long history dating back to the mid-1800s.' Most of...
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