Wine
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Wine Based in the picturesque, tourist-ridden town of Rudesheim, Johannes Leitz is one of the most exciting of the new wave of German winemakers. From some of the best sites in the region he makes wines of real depth and character.
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Wine We joined this Algerian ex-fruit grower in his pursuit of excellence from 1978, since when he's struggled against uneven terrain, a TGV line and an arson attack. Yet he always prevails, and his wines are now standard-bearers for the region.
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Wine Scents of raspberries and violets, silky red cherry fruit; hints of oak; this lighthearted, harmonious red Burgundy (perfect for summer picnics) exemplifies the delicate character of wines from St. Bris, west of Chablis. Five St. Bris hectares went the way of Chablis supremo Jean-Marc Brocard when he married a soignée local girl. His sterling efforts are ably continued by son, Julien (a devotee of biodynamic cultivation).
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Wine John and Brigid Forrest have been quietly making themselves into the foremost private estate in the famous Marlborough region of NZ. Their extensive vineyards are to be found in the valley's prime locations and this gives them the ability to blend wines to a consistently high standard. Not content with producing wines from just the one region they have aquired land to the south in Otago and Waitaki and also in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island. Diversity and quality are theirs.
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Wine 'La Monacesca' takes its name from a ruined Benedictine monastery in the Marche's Alta Valle d'Esino (Tuscan latitude; east coast) now underpinning the Cifola family's cellars. Aldo Cifola teamed up with consultant Roberto Cipresso and is out-Verdicchio-ing competitors with wines from his Matelica vineyards made using slightly raisined grapes. This mouthwatering vintage, with its exuberant aromatics (aniseed; apricots; greengages) and crisp, citrusy flavour goes brilliantly with fish.
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Wine Take a tasting tour of the classic grapes of Alsace with this excellent blend of spicy Gewürztraminer, fruity Riesling, fragrant Muscat and crisp Sylvaner, lovely, we've found, with smoked chicken. Another benchmark wine from the crusading, vineyard-resurrecting Hugel family, based in Riquewihr since 1639 (and owners of the world's oldest barrel, dated 1715). Centuries of winemaking lore in no way restrict the family's current generation of constantly-improving innovators.
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Wine Reach for this if you're cooking up something spicy. Well-made Grenache has a vibrant, peppery edge and you won't find one better built than Tim Gramp's. Heir to a winemaking dynasty dating back to 1847 (his forebears planted the first Barossa Valley vines, near now-notorious 'Jacob's Creek') Tim has carved a niche as South Australia's Grenache supremo. Successive vintages of this wine has always won plaudits for its resounding raspberry fruitiness and sheer oomph.
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Wine Alsace Pinot Blanc should have a higher profile. Delicious, true-to-type examples like this bright, clean cuvée, with its plump orchard fruit flavours and citrusy edge can't fail to help. Serve it with roast belly pork and you're sure to make sudden converts to the variety. Sustaining a winemaking tradition that dates back to 1610, Frédéric and Philippe Blanck are passionate about Alsace's classic grapes and their family's ancient vineyards, cultivating them as organically as they can.
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Wine Leaving behind careers in medicine and molecular biology, Doctors John and Brigid Forrest established Forrest Estate in Marlborough's stony Wairau River Valley in 1989. Branching out from their home territory they bought vineyards in the cool southern area of Otago with the intention of making fine Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The results are impressive,
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Wine This 40 hectare estate is owned by the Giuntini family who have been here since 1827. This estate is in the Chianti Rufina region, north east of Florence and the characteristic rusticity of the region is in evidence in this wine.
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Wine The vineyards are situated at the ba base of the Dentelles de Montmiral mountains, and are in a particularly warm site. This is a Vin doux Natural. It's naturally sweet, with around 125gm/L of residual sugar -it's perfect paired with desserts.
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Wine If you've preconceived notions about Beaujolais being weak-willed and girly, then here's the wine to change your mind. We've always admired the robust, fleshy, forceful and full-bodied styles made in Brouilly, southernmost 'cru' (one of ten quality enclaves on granite hills to the north of the region). This is the Gamay grape at full throttle, with notable earthy substance balanced by ample, vibrant, juicy fruit. At its best with roasts, grills and charcuterie.
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Wine The Tapiz wines come from the Fincas Patagonicas, one of the most technologically advanced wineries in Argentina. Fincas Patagonicas vineyards are located in the Valle de Uco and Agrelo regions, province of Mendoza. Mt. Plata (6100 meters) and Tupungato volcano (6800 meters), overlook the state-of-the-art Fincas Patagónicas Winery providing magnificent scenery.
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Wine Suffolk-born Chris Pask and daughter Tessa McKay set up their estate in 1985 on the gravelly soils of the North Island's Gimblett Road (underlain by an old riverbed of the Ngaruroro River) and have triumphed ever since. Thanks to the efforts of winemaker Kate Radburnd, the winery has reeled in scores of awards, including a Wine Challenge trophy. Their minerally, elegant Sauvignon has currant-leaf aromas and vibrant lime-zesty flavour with hints of tropical fruit richness.
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Wine The Scotto family hail from the island of Ischia in the bay of Naples. The first Scotto in the US, Domonic, worked as a caulker in the shipyards and made wine at home. The wine making tradition has been passed down the generations to his grandson Anthony who now runs the family wine business.
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Wine The clue's in the name: Barefoot Wine Company. Cathy Marshall set up her 'garage' winemaking outfit (i.e. cellars on a rental basis; bijou output) in 1997 with a view to vinifying prized parcels of fruit wherever she found them, hence BWC's nomadic progress from Franschhoek to Swartland to Paarl. Her iconoclastic range formerly focused solely on reds; this welcome Sauvignon addition has elegant, vibrant flavours of gooseberries, fresh cut grass, asparagus and lime peel.
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Wine Pitted with deep valleys and sheltered by the Aragonese Pyrénées, high-altitude, rough-textured Somontano, north-east of Rioja, offers protection from bitter northerlies, Zaragozan dryness and Mediterranean humidity. Natural advantages exploited by the Otto Bestué family, resident in the village of Enate since 1640, and now owners of sizeable Tempranillo and Cabernet vineyards. This glorious rosado is big and juicy yet fabulously fresh, with red plum and cherry flavours
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Wine A beautifully clean, unoaked style of Chardonnay, with fresh flavours of lemons and melons that excel with grilled fish. The no-nonsense Talmard family have long been our touchstone for consistently brilliant, reasonably-priced southern Burgundian whites. Their gleaming, steel-tank-lined cellar sits at the edge of the Mâcon village of Chardonnay: they're intimately au fait with the eponymous grape.
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Wine John and Brigid Forrest have been quietly making themselves into the foremost private estate in the famous Marlborough region of NZ. Their extensive vineyards are to be found in the valley's prime locations and this gives them the ability to blend wines to a consistently high standard. Not content with producing wines from just the one region they have aquired land to the south in Otago and Waitaki and also in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island. Diversity and quality are theirs.
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Wine Domaine Vacheron has some of the best vineyards in Sancerre, comprising equal measures of limestone and flint - the first lending wines 'tang', the latter minerality. In the dream Loire vintage of 2005 (a year of ripe yet perfectly-balanced wines), organically-oriented cousins Jean-Dominique and Jean-Laurent Vacheron kept yields one-fifth lower than typical local harvests, resulting in Sauvignon of real concentration. Incisively citrusy; hints of herbs; a fine match for river fish.
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Wine From a family owned winery on the island of Paros in the Cycladies.
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Wine The Union of Samos winery was established on this Northern Aegean, abruptly mountainous island (named 'Samos' by the Phoenicians: 'rise by the sea') in 1934, based on the French 'co-operative' model. The locals are fiercely proud of their heritage: Pythagoras, Aesop, Epicurus and a 3,000 year-old tradition of winemaking. Richly-scented and intensely-flavoured, 'Golden Samena' is a true 'wine with altitude', made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes (the finest Muscat variety) grown on the high, sun-drenched slopes of Mount Ampelos. Savour the lovely dry peach, rose petal and tangerine zest flavours.
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Wine Lively, fruity, delicate and minerally, this classic Petit Chablis is particularly recommended with 'fruits de mer' or as an apéritif. Domaine d'Elise was created in 1970 on the uppermost slopes of a hillside above Premier Cru 'Côte de Lechet'. It was taken over in 1983 by Frederic Prain, who realised the estate's potential with just four workers. The cellar nestles at the centre of 13 hectares of stony vineyards. Vinification is gentle, with the wine rested a long while on its lees.
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Wine John and Brigid Forrest have been quietly making themselves into the foremost private estate in the famous Marlborough region of NZ. Their extensive vineyards are to be found in the valley's prime locations and this gives them the ability to blend wines to a consistently high standard. Not content with producing wines from just the one region they have aquired land to the south in Otago and Waitaki and also in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island. Diversity and quality are theirs. This is quietly making themselves into the foremost private estate in the famous Marlborough region of NZ. Their extensive vineyards are to be found in the valley's prime locations and this gives them the ability to blend wines to a consistently high standard. Not content with producing wines from just the one region they have aquired land to the south in Otago and Waitaki and also in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island. Diversity and quality are theirs. This is an elegant, well-made Chardonnay.
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Wine Forrest's Gewurz offers beguiling scents of Turkish delight and lychees, and a soft, rich palate of grapey fruit, rosepetals, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Spicy Chinese dishes would suit this.
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Wine Bruno Fina spent the 1990's running Sicily's experimental cellar at Alcamo, applying radical techniques to Sicilian varieties in pursuit of their true vocation. He advised growers making plantings - so he knows where the best grapes are, and what they can do. This is his first venture into this very southern grape variety and he does not disappoint. If you'd like to try something different, then try this.
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Wine Bruno Fina spent the 1990's running Sicily's experimental cellar at Alcamo, applying radical techniques to Sicilian varieties in pursuit of their true vocation. He advised growers making plantings - so he knows where the best grapes are, and what they can do. His cellar, near Erice, was ready for the superb 2005 vintage. Nero d'Avola is also known as Calabrese, given its apparent origins in Calabria. Big, rich blackberry and dark cherry flavours make this a great wine for game.
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Wine Bruno Fina spent the 1990's running Sicily's experimental cellar at Alcamo, applying radical techniques to Sicilian varieties in pursuit of their true vocation. He advised growers making plantings - so he knows where the best grapes are, and what they can do. His cellar, near Erice, was ready for the superb 2005 vintage. Grillo, hitherto reserved for the production of Marsala, shines bright here in deliciously crisp, fragrant, full-bodied form. Try it with tuna or swordfish steaks.
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Wine Lime sherbet, granny smith apple and mandarin flavours make an appealing wine. On the palate aromas of citrus, apricots & Asian spice, lovely fruit sweetness, balanced by fine acidity; the wines naturally lower alcohol ensure each mouthful is a refreshing delicious experience
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Wine An elegant glass decanter designed for serving top quality reds. The base is wide, which means that you can gently swirl your red to give it some oxygen before serving.
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