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 […]
Cornalin
What makes a wine traditional?
Tradition is a hot word in wine marketing right now, one that reassures consumers – and yet few of us who are on the buying end of the sales chain question what it means, I think. If you have been making wine the same way for 50 years, does that make your wine traditional? 100 years? Or what […]
Top picks, reds from Vinea fair
I normally opt to taste a lot of Pinot Noir at the Vinea Wine Fair, but this year my focus was other reds, in particular Gamays and Cornalins. My notes on favourites from tasting them yesterday – Friday – follow, ending with other reds that were among my top wines tasted at Vinea. This year […]
Five Swiss rare wines
LOCARNO, SWITZERLAND – Thursday evening I gave a talk to a sellout crowd at the Anglo-Swiss Club in Locarno on unusual and rare Swiss grape varieties. We then tasted five of these wines. Here are some brief notes on the wines, with contact information for the wineries. All of these wines are produced in limited […]
Vaud Chasselas, 8 Valais stars – coming soon
I’ll be taking part in, and reporting back to you soon, on two annual events that are not open to the public but which will point you to some of the best Swiss wines. The first is the annual selection of favourite Chasselas wines from canton Vaud, the Lauriers de Platine Terravin, organized by the […]