The simple answer is – the skin of the grape. But surely it’s a little more complex than that? Yes, it is! Let’s start with a quick look at the beginning of the process of turning those luscious grapes into wine because this has a bearing on what colour the wine will be. To ...
Merlot = Bordeaux, right? Not necessarily! The classic Bordeaux blend does include Merlot, but you can find Merlot in plenty of other places – the USA, Chile, Australia, Italy, New Zealand. But Germany? Nah – or so I thought! According to figures published by the German Wine Institute (drawing on information from the ...
Spotlight on … Merlot To follow up on my blog a couple of months ago about Pinot Noir, here’s another International Wine Day – this time the spotlight is on Merlot. The 7th November is not only International Merlot Day, it’s also International Hug a Bear Day! Yes! I kid you not. So, as ...
(apologies to a certain phone provider) Orange wine? What? Wine made out of oranges? No. In a nutshell, orange (or amber or ramato as it is sometimes described) wine is a type of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice, creating an orange-hued liquid. Or, as ...
Natural Wines: The Marmite of the Wine World? In previous blogs, I’ve written about organic and bio-dynamic wine. There’s another category that has made its way into the wine lexicon – ‘natural’ – and so this blog will, hopefully, shed some light on what ‘natural’ wine means. The first thing to say is ...
If you like a Pinot Noir that has a bit of dynamism to it, look no further. This Gem Pinot Noir from Martinborough in New Zealand is just the ticket. Based at the southern end of the North Island, Martinborough is one of the three main sub-regions of the larger Wairarapa region. It’s a ...
Do you know what’s special about 18th August? Apart from it being someone’s birthday, anniversary, or such like? Or it being National Fajita Day (yes, really) or Bad Poetry Day (I’m not making it up)? It’s (trumpet fanfare) International Pinot Noir Day! So before we get to the serious stuff about the wine, here’s ...
Please confirm that you are over 18 years of age to enter our website.
