This article appeared in the June 2007 edition of Connections Magazine (Ireland)
People who know nothing about wine – no, not you, I’m talking about people who think Chardonnay is a brand name – somehow know enough to say “I like a dry wine” even if they don’t. Yes, the underlying insecurities that seem to […]

“I’ll be pouring some excellent Cab Francs today.”
Whatever happened to “We’re tasting some excellent Cab Francs today?” Everyone seems to be pouring everywhere these days. Am I the only person who thinks that this sounds strange? What would the equivalent be with chocolate chip cookies? “I’ll be placing some excellent […]

This article appeared in the December 2007 edition of Connections Magazine (Ireland)
So what do you get for the wine lover who has everything? Bottles of wine can be tricky unless you really understand the receiver’s preferences very well. And even then, the element of surprise – the hallmark of any good gift – ups […]

An evening at the Autour d’ un Verre Copyright 2007 Brice Dunwoodie

This article appeared in the October 2007 edition of Connections Magazine (Ireland)
People used to say that you can’t get a bad meal in Paris. Sadly, this is no longer true (perhaps it never was!) and the same goes for wine. Still, there’s […]

It used to be said – actually quite often – that wine people are all so nice. But Bacchus got bored of that. Polite disagreements turned into towel-swatting. Towel-swatting turned into fisticuffs. And fisticuffs turned into an all out head-in-the-turnbuckle, tomahawk chopping, pile driving, suplexing brawl. Yes, the world of […]

Is it OK to yell blueberry milkshake in a crowded wine tasting?
Portugal and Spain are often described as both new world and old world wine countries because of the mix of traditional and modern methods. This doesn’t just mean that there are new players making wine among the traditionalists. The winemakers themselves are […]

This article is a part of Wine Blogging Wednesday “go native”1 sponsored by Dr. Vino.
Verdelho, along with Sercial, Malmsey and Bual, is one of the 4 main Madeira grape varieties. As one of the dry styles of Madeira, it’s made in a way similar to sherry; in other words, we’re not going to get […]

Out of habit, everyone (myself included) keeps referring to the big 6 grape varieties - Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon – but the list seems a little outdated. Where’s the Syrah? Where’s the Zin? Where’s the Sangiovese?
Winemetrics published this list last week based on wine lists in over […]

FREE MAP - Wine Regions of the Rhône Valley

Includes all 18 Cotes du Rhône Villages
Suitable for framing
download Rhone.pdf

This article appearded in the April/May 2007 edition of Connections Magazine (Ireland)
Of the three great classic wine regions of France – Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône – the Rhône has never quite achieved the status […]

On my way to the Virginia Wine Experience in London preliminary tasting at Hampden House yesterday, I had a small moment of panic: will this be an afternoon of saying polite things about mediocre wines? After all America’s most famous wine connoisseur, Thomas Jefferson tried for years but failed to produce anything […]