Wine of the Day

Plaisir de Gassac is just that, a pleasure. To behold, open, and finish. Delicious as an aperitif, it is also wonderful around the pool or dining table. This new wine from Languedoc’s famed Mas de Daumas Gassac is a sparkler, the bubbles created by a cuvé close (similar to Prosecco). …

Alvaro Palacios is a visionary. He is, therefore, also a dreamer. Dreamers go why others avoid. Dreamers are daring, brave people. One of nine children born to the owners of Palacio Remondeo, a respected producer of Rioja, Alvaro studied winemaking in Bordeaux, including working under the company Jean-Pierre Moueix. Alvaro …

Gyles Webb, founder of Thelema, gave me this bottle after a visit to his vineyard in the Simonsberg Mountain, Stellenbosch, South Africa, more than 20 years ago. Webb was an accountant when one day – in the 1970s – he popped into a local wine shop on his way home …

This was tasted 11 days ago on Monday 24 February 2020, Day 1 of our inaugural Magic of Bordeaux Tour. It had been decanted from bottle to bottle 90 minutes earlier. Our guide Marie Guillard – whom I have known for several years now – pointed out it should had been …

The winery is situated in the fortified monastery that was built in the 12th Century by the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. Bonpas is derived from the Latin bonus passus meaning “safe crossing point”. It refers to the torrential Durance River which could only be crossed …

A much deserved Gold Medal winner at the Concours des Vins in Orange in their 2019 competition. In fact, Les Vignerons des Quatre Chemins – the cooperative producer in Laudun of this wine – is not so far from Orange (if you visit, you must not miss the 2,000-year old …

Italian whites – particularly those made from indigenous varieties – are fruity, fresh and unoaked. Almost always – when in the country or in Italian restaurants outside Italy – I avoid Italian wines made from chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon or merlot. For the same reason, I don’t patronise Chinese …

This is just a “Vin de Pays” under French wine classification, above Vin de Table but below AOC or Appellation d’Origine Controlee. That does not matter a drop because Domaine des Tours is produced and owned by the famed Reynaud Family. Emmanuel Reynaud is the fourth-generation in charge and had …

This is the most complex white in the world as far as composition is concerned. Mas de Daumas Gassac White is usually produced from 20 varieties: petit manseng, viognier, chardonnay, chenin blanc, courbu, muscat ottonel, muscat petit grain, muscat d’alexandrie, gros manseng, semillon, neherleschol, petite arvine, amigne, sercial, khondorni, tchilar, …

Italian wine – like the cuisine – emphasizes freshness. The whites make for salivating aperitifs and with many dishes, particularly deep-fried foods such as fritto misto which reminds of Japanese tempura (equally compelling pairing). The South Tyrol is an autonomous province in northernmost Italy in the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto …