Articles
Judean Hills gents: Golan Flam, Doron Rav Hon, Eli-Gilbert Ben-Zaken, Eran Pick MW

An update on Israeli wines

by  |  30-08-2017

It’s something of an interesting time for the wines of Israeli as a number of the very quality-conscious producers are digging into that third dimension of wine, “terroir”. They’re working to further flesh out and... more »

In The Glass: Marimar Estate – Don Miguel Vineyard 2012

by  | 

Marimar Estate is a Torres family venture that’s run my namesake, Marimar Torres in the gilded wine lands of California. Started in 1986, she’s built a solid winery business in the Sonoma Valley with wines... more »

Tastings & Talks happening

by  |  25-08-2017

If there’s one thing I’m not the best at, it’s shameless self promotion, which in some ways I feel is a positive as opposed to a negative. Still, the old adage of a tree falling... more »

Descendientes de J. Palacios – Pétalos 2015

by  |  21-08-2017

Living where I do, I know the wines of Álvaro Palacios very well as his winery is one of the most dominant in the region. Something like 15% of all the grapes grown in DOQ... more »

And the Paratges of Cava arrive

by  |  17-08-2017

It is not unjust to say that Spain’s sparkling wine, Cava, is the antithesis of “terroir”. While 90% of this Iberian bubbly comes from within the limits of the Penedès counties in Catalunya, there are... more »

A book review of “Essi Avellan’s Champagne”

by  |  16-08-2017

What I know of Champagne is purely by obligation. In sommelier studies and other wine courses, given its dominance in the sparkling wine world, Champagne is required knowledge and I know as much as it... more »

The Crossover: Nomad Outland Whisky

by  |  14-08-2017

The Nomad Outland Whisky starts out life as a Scotch based on spirits from Speyside but is then shipped down to Jerez to age in used Sherry barrels in Andalusia instead of having the barrels... more »
From the Fanagoria website

Fanagoria – Cru Lermont Pinot Noir 2015

by  |  10-08-2017

Russia and wine are not two words oft spoken in the same breath. So while judging at the Decanter Awards in April, in a seriously mixed and exotic flight, my table found themselves presented with... more »

A book review of “In Vino Duplicitas”

by  |  08-08-2017

The entire Rudy Kurniawan affair was sordid and I’ve read countless articles about the story since it broke years and years ago. Despite this, Peter Hellman’s new book, “In Vino Duplicitas” brought out many bits... more »

In The Glass: Jean Leon – La Scala 2009

by  |  07-08-2017

The Jean Leon winery is one of the more interesting projects up in Penedès and it’s something of a crown jewel in the ‘experimental’ wineries that Torres owns. I’ve tasting a number of wines from... more »