Rule number 2. Do not open e’mails from favourite wine merchant after impromptu pub visit… It could have been worse. I had promised “no more Claret”. Failed 😞 . Cellar is way too French. But, lovely wine at a very tidy price. What is a chap to do? Thanks to @Tom.Mann

I’m doing my lone dinner/pint over Decanter magazine. Always a great read. However, the ball has been dropped. The excellent article on up & coming NZ wine makers, opened with a 1/2 page pic of Donald & dog (MokoHills). 7 pages and we didn’t even learn the name of the dog! Wine looks great though 👍🏻

I normally quite like the Uk. But, it’s cold and grey. Storms due. Nights are drawing in. And I got charged £7 for a pint yesterday. Time to head south for the winter…… Meanwhile, back in reality, a full in-box awaits and rain for the next 6 months.

I’m looking forward to this one. Nebbiolo from the far north. Made like an Amarone! A wine loving friend brought me 3 bottles back from his travels with the “don’t touch it for 3 years” instruction. Am I that strong enough? Has anyone tried it?

Naked Wines.. Ocado like logistics 👍🏻 Quality of product 🥱 Should be a great model. But, their products remove all joy from drinking wine. Elevator music in a glass! I’m used to being mildly bored by their competently made wine. But, this was bad. “Astringent” as the 1st word on the tasting note FFS.

Are some smaller seller Bordeaux En-Primeur offers just sellers gambling on the secondary market? Or, do they really not get their allocation until nearly a year after the bigger players? 22’s bought EP(?) still not in the country; but same wine delivered 9 months ago from a bigger supplier… #wine

For bubbles champagne needs nucleation points overcome surface tension. These were glass faults however the better the glass the less imperfections! So makers etch them in - up to 20 points creating a ring at the base which produces columns of rising bubbles. #champagne #method #cider

£20 claret? A lesson in letting an open bottle develop. First tasting was overwhelming back currents with a mineral streak. 24 hours open. Different story. Much more together with some tidy flavours coming through. Am conflicted as to when to attempt the rest off the case…

I got a horrible shock during the weekly supermarket shop….. empty shelves where once was wine! After a couple of minutes wandering the isles in a state of distressed befuddlement, I found a temporary wine section in the opposite corner of the shop. Emergency over. #wine #waitrose

Autumn is officially here. Mega fungi in the woods (60lbs Labrador for scale)!!!!!

Who said the Nebbiolo has to be pricy and have places beginning with “B” on the label. Once given a bit of air this was vibrant and enjoyable. Bitter fruits, ok length, clean and zippy. Not particularly complex, but for less than £25, let’s not be too picky. #wine #winesky 🍷

We’ve created something beautiful. Available exclusively at www.paranoidandroidfilms.com #vhs #horrorcollectors

For lovers of the desert, Cederberg SA is on hell of a place. The standard Syrah is tidy good value (£12-£13). The version has a bit more body. I’d have guessed Penfolds Bin 22 if tasted blind. Happily only half the price from Waitrose (£17 ish). Will be getting more. #wine #cederberg

Lunch today. A big Sea Bass caught off the jetty last night by youngest son. It was his first ever catch, fed five of us and tasted fantastic. Big wins all round! The punchy £10 Rosé mash up from Aldi helped things along too.🍷#wine

Ok. Own up. Who could name all seven without pausing? 🤥 Sadly. Not me…. Would love to try an Arbane forward version if they exist.

The best way to end the day. #dogs

Summer jobs. Shelling beans if a thankless task; which was helped along with a cheap rose that actually packed a bit of a punch. Aldi £10 (thank you Tom Gilbey)!

Food/Wine Pairing in Decanter - Enjoyed an eloquent article on the aforementioned by @vinography.com and @fibeckett.bsky.social. Thanks for being such good sports. My old boss (1995 ish) took great pleasure in recommending different sherries with every food / wine pairing enquiry. Hero!

No reds worth drinking at less than 10 years old? No Brunello less than 20 years?? No Barolo this century and only 3 vintages??? I must be missing some context. Anyone else think this is a bit odd?

This has killed my cooking and bank balance. Pre argon, I’d hesitate to open nice wine as it is rare that I am at home and up for a glass two days running. Now - Open nice wine. Quick squirt of £££ gas. “Oooo. That is nice”. Suddenly. Bottle gone….. Nothing left for cooking with either. 😡

£20 from a French supermarket last winter. I now regret only buying three. Staggeringly good value 😁

Suddenly I want to learn a new skill! Must have a hundred books with cheap tatty covers that I don’t want to bin and look rubbish on the shelf.

An eclectic sweaty week of wine; in which I found a Rosé that I really liked! Tuesday’s 2024 claret frenzy wasn’t too shabby either. Fascinating variation between villages (in a good way). Will be curious to see how/if they age. Time will tell. Will leave the Cali chard for another day….

With the current heat dome (might be the same as the single good weather week in the uk for 2025); I’m attempting to recreate Tuscany in my back garden. Going v well so far. An amazing modern take on Sangiovese! Only a couple of ‘16s left now. 19’s waiting patiently in the wings and 21’s incoming😁

It’s co not often that I am so completely surprised by a tasting. A big thank you to Betty (Alzbeta) from bohemiawine.co.uk/about/. A true eye opener. Quality wine for a fair price. Not cheap, but well within the acceptable range for weekend drinking!

WTF!!! A glass of NdT in one of the better popular pizza chains. They could get away with it if it was cheap, local and a bit rough. They managed one of the three. I’m in city centre Cardiff….. #wine

Are these the prettiest wine bottles out there? I may be very swayed by the contents…. I bloody love this wine… Thinking that the ‘16 might be ready. Last tried Jan ‘24 and was just hitting its stride.

Barking wine descriptor of the day - “Cookie Cutter Wine” Tastes like a sharp piece of metal? Or, tastes like cookies? A tasting note from Emma Jenkins MW (Oct 24 Decanter). Generally, her writing is expressive and I can nearly taste the wine on reading. This one raised a smile 😁. #wine

A bit of a treat for a school night? No problem with my new birthday Coravin. Best wine gadget ever. The wine? A PN lover’s PN! Given 30mins in the glass this was banging (my children’s term for good/going for it…). Plenty of acid, piercing fruit, savoury edge. Big big smile here. Great for the ££.

Big Thank You to Matt Walls for his Rhone Roots tasting. Great venue. Great producers. Really liked the southern hemisphere guys. Alkina (Barossa) was my star producer. Looks like I’ll have to get excited about Australia as for vibrant interesting wine; rather than banging on about SA!

Morning all. Douro Valley (Portugal) tasting / visit recommendations? Am sitting on the boat from Tangier, about to head up through Portugal. Never been to the Douro valley before. Any wine / eating suggestions?

Today, the sun came out over the downs.

A few that caught my eye from Thursday. My sort of tasting! Interesting people too. 😁. Might have to invest in some of the Brovia. Was very into their energy and style. Can’t get close to affording the spectacular Roberto Voerzio offerings…….

Sun is out spring is here! Definitely a CNdP day… Not my normal stomping ground, but am thoroughly enjoying this one. The ‘19 is not too bombastic. Also. Am secretly really enjoying 1/2 bottles for school night drinking.

Barolo ‘21. Spent a happy afternoon tasting the new vintage, courtesy of a long standing St James’ wine seller (still J&B???Missed have missed the rebrand). Takeaways: 1:/ 2018 is turning out better than I thought. 2: Dolcetto is great 3: Barolo is in rude health. 4: Am about to be v poor again.

Evening prep. Have got a eulogy to deliver tomorrow so needed some “working” wine (father). Tomorrow’s wake wine will be exceptional. He got me into wine. This one is great value but can’t see the stellar scores that the ‘20 achieved for that wine.

Anybody had a look at this? Was flicking though a copy of Decanter. Came across the “Books etc.” section. This was sort of recommended, but on reading that it sort of compares to Hugh J’s History of Wine, my interest was piqued. Any thoughts?

Six weeks on half bottles. Lent has unexpectedly arrived. ☹️. Will have to pop into Hedonism (London) to raid their amazing 1/2 bottle wall 😁. Sadly this will involve full bottle £££ (serious wine only). Desperate times.

Rook drank all the wine when they heard they weren't on the book club list

This one brings back a few memories. It was also my grandfather’s favoured lunch spot. He had a camp bed in his Fleet Street office in case lunch proved strenuous…

Today’s tipple. Since there has been a swell of Rioja based posts on here over the last few weeks… I discovered that home stocks are perilously low. This was all that I had!!! Recommended as good dependable crowd pleasing £30 Reserva. With a >300k bottle production, quirky & exciting is unlikely.

Yesterday’s “Two bottle Tuesday” (did have company). Sadly the Meursault (‘05) was completely shot. Stored well, cork great, C’est la vie. Down the sink. Tried again. The Morgeot was surprisingly splendid. I was very happy.😁🍷

These arrived this week. Am itching to try this latest iteration of this popular Barbaresco. I know that I should wait……🍷🕰️

Fascinating couple of days in Portugal with Amorim, the world’s biggest cork producer, seeing how corks are made. Top-grade natural corks being punched manually here

“Sun over the yard arm =🍷”. Having just been caught with a glass of wine in my hand at 5:01pm. I offered the above by way of justification. It turns out that this nautical phrase relates to Forenoon when the officers enjoy the first rum. 11am! www.harbourguides.com/nautical-say... Comments are gold

Enjoyed Tim Aitkin’s excellent Rioja tasting in the rather splendid Institute of Civil Engineers. Proved that interesting things are happening in Rioja. Many great producers. My top picks were Valdelana (just wow) and JC Sancha (Garnacha in clay and granite amphorae @£25!). @timatkinmw.bsky.social

This made me smile quietly while making a few interesting points on the likely US tariff frenzy… www.wine-searcher.com/m/2025/02/it...

Was doing some cellar sorting last night. Came across this little one lurking amongst some long forgotten Eau de Vies (shudder). Hoping to find something interesting and sticky inside. Anyone seen this one before?

I’ve been struggling to sleep lately, so am considering watching the Super Bowl tonight. I’m a bit hazy on the rules and have no idea which team to support. Will I have: A) a great night’s entertainment. Or, B) a cure for my insomnia? Seems like a rare win win scenario!

Cheese for dinner here, So went foraging and came up with this from 2016. Worked a treat. 😁