Learning to love wines from ancient lands Fine wines from Armenia and Turkey are not what you might imagine Sunday afternoon I went to a high mountainside in Armenia and drank a magnificent red wine that was deep and rich in fruit and fresh and silky. I wish I had done all of that physically, but […]
Chasselas
Why sommeliers love a grab bag of wines
Many – most? – of us tend to repeat certain meals at home and we know what we like to drink with them – and now and again we try something a bit different. But home is about comfort and coziness, while dining out is about splashing out socially and emotionally, whether or not you […]
Parker Wine Advocate, latest notes on Swiss wines
The Swiss are still getting excited (Le Nouvelliste) about their wines being reviewed by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, the influential American newsletter. “Great Swiss wines you shouldn’t miss…” The latest batch of 167 reviews (available to subscribers) by Stephan Reinhardt, just out, is headed “Great Swiss wines you shouldn’t miss when you’re in Switzerland”, a […]
Hunting for great Arvines (Bern)
It’s hard to stay focused at a good wine fair. I went to Bern recently to visit Vinumrarum, an annual weekend wine fair for independent family wineries. I decided to focus on Petite Arvine wines. The more people who make this increasingly popular wine (Valais produced 1.9 million kg Arvine grapes in 2016, about 100,000 […]
Wine books: Chasselas, 2 guides, Swiss grapes
Holiday and gift-giving time is not far off, and this year you should consider some good books for wine fans. My four top choices, three of which are in French, are: Cepages Suisses, histoire et origines, by José Vouillamoz, out this week Gault & Millau Guide Suisse 2018, published in October Guide Bleu 2017/18, published […]