Switzerland has such distinctly different areas that when you live in one you really have to move around and visit others to make sense of the whole. I’m spending a couple of days out of my French comfort zone to stumble and mumble in greater Zürich. With wine on the brain, of course. Thursday evening […]
Zurich
Wines from Spain, mulled pleasures
I spent a happy Saturday in February tasting some very good Spanish wines in Zurich, at the Robert Parker Matter of Taste – the wines at the public tasting are all rated 90 or above, so it was a powerhouse kind of day. Most were from the north of Spain, with an exciting dash over […]
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 […]
Best of Merlots: Zurich awards
New vs Old World Merlots; love at first sip The top wine at the Mondial du Merlot, which handed out awards 18 May in Zurich, is from Uruguay’s Bouza Bodega Boutique – a winner that provided the start of some interesting discoveries made during the event (it also made me want to catch the next […]
What’s the deal with older wines?
I’m about to start a series of reports here on older vintage Swiss wines. I’ve hesitated because of a niggling question: why should the public care about them? What’s the big deal, as far as drinkers are concerned? First, some key dates if you want to taste vintage wines: Two excellent ways to enjoy and […]