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I have been mulling over the wines that I may choose to enjoy this weekend as I will be celebrating the November day when I made the decision to be born. As I write on this Monday morning, I am cognisant that the Wine Spectator has just released the...

There is such a range of wines that can go well with a turkey dinner – a well-aged bordeaux, a barolo, a chateauneuf du pape or a beaujolais cru. In our home on American Thanksgiving we only have one option and that is wine from the United States of...

This is a story about a class of wines that did not exist until the late 1960s and, to emphasise their appeal and quality, I will share a somewhat embarrassing occasion. A reader of this column quite recently invited me to attend a wine tasting in t...

In 1309 the French-born Pope Clement V decided to pack up in Rome and move to Avignon in France and so the papacy was based there until 1377. Clement’s successor decided that he had to have a special place to live and this is how the area became kno...

People will get to taste new wines, socialise with friends and receive writing help during Wine and Wordsmithy’s second event on November 4. Wine and Wordsmithy, a support group for writing and wine lovers, was created by public relations specialist...

A quick explanation. Early each week I hand in my text to The Royal Gazette and, as the layout in the actual newspaper varies from week to week, they often change my heading for the story to fit their page. I suspect they also do it if they want to ...

Each year Wine Enthusiast magazine publishes a list of their 100 best buys. They explain it this way: “In a year when US gas prices, grocery prices, housing costs and interest rates all jumped dramatically, the price of a good bottle of wine still l...

New wines have been arriving at quite a pace at Burrows Lightbourn. This week we will stop in Australia, Chile and France and introduce you to grape varieties that are a little off the beaten path. Edward Tyrrell left England in 1858 and settled in A...

For anyone who is struggling to write a book, a poem or a blog, Sian Blackmore is offering help. With her friend Jo-Rena Davis, she has carved out a safe space for writers in need of a kick to get them started. If that’s not enough, a curated selecti...

As Mother Nature has just given us a reminder of her power, I am thinking of wines that can do the same – the type of wine that makes me want to listen to White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, or hear a steak sizzling in a cast iron skillet while I sme...

Nestled in the rolling hills of western Sonoma County, the Russian River/Green Valley appellation is a perfect microclimate for growing pinot noir. Only ten miles from the Pacific Ocean and 50 miles north of San Francisco, the site is influenced by ...

I was sitting at my desk when a messenger arrived to say that all students had to report to the assembly hall immediately. Once all the boys were seated (no girls in those days) the headmaster took centre stage and burned eight words into my memory b...