September 2010
5 posts
WatchDoug chats to Eduardo Pulenta at the Wheelhouse in Falkirk
Watch
WatchMeanwhile Doug in London talking to Charlie Melton about his experiments with biodynamics - as ever it’s an honest Aussie assessment - but it seems to be working ….
May 2010
2 posts
Australia's First Families of Wine Tasting & Lunch...
Interesting day … and the whole event was packed. Australia’s First Family of Wine is a group of family wineries who have got together because ‘wine is far more interesting than accounting and economics’! AKA they too are fed up with brand Australia being synominous with discounting at the cheaper end of the market. (If you want to read their take on it, click on the link...
New List at the Frog and Thistle in Braco ...
As Frank, our man on the ground, goes from strength to strength, we’re delighted that the Frog and Thistle in Braco has just started using us for their wines …
Lionel (formerly of the Queens and then L’Angevine in Stirling) has taken over the Braco Hotel. No longer a hotel, he and his family now occupy all the rooms, but they have refurbished the bar and restaurant and offer his...
April 2010
2 posts
RIDGE Tasting and far, far too much food ...
Day 2 and I headed to the world famous Berry Bros & Rudd shop on St James’s Street. I had never been before - must have been easily intimidated all those years ago when I lived in London … because this place has a history! It’s like a wine museum and then you go downstairs and it’s a magical blend of high tech with 17th century cellars. I was here for a pre-release...
London Called ...
Mostly I am very glad I live in a village in Scotland, but every now and then London calls. The excuse this time was #iwc2010 (aka the International Wine Challenge) and what with London being the center of the wine world, it’s generally very easy to tag on a tasting either side.
Sleeper arrived on time and walking from Euston towards Barbican at 7am was made even more pleasant by spring...
November 2009
4 posts
Half Price Champagne - and not even worth that!
Not from WoodWinters of course! But the supermarkets are at it again and it’s really made us think …
Douglas was lucky enough to be invited to take part in the Champagne Academy at the start of the summer but he did not come back singing the praises of many of the Grand Marques! Too much of the ‘terroir’ is full of rusting metal, razors, plastic and dead batteries from...
Can nothing stop NZ SB?
We recently held our bi-annual BIG tasting in Bridge of Allan and for the first time in Edinburgh. Over the course of the weekend 400 or so people tasted 60 odd wines from our suppliers Boutinot, FMV, Thorman Hunt, The Wine Treasury, MMD and Liberty.
We tasted Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc, the new label from Kevin Judd a few weeks previous and it was unanimously dismissed by the team as being over...
Poor Matt Skinner ...
He can’t be the first person to review a wine he has not tasted, but is now a very public example of why the world of journalism and writing needs to change … I did not go to Rioja last week, but I feel very well connected with what happened because of the variety of ‘social media’ tools that people were using. I watched Gary Vaynerchuck’s speech minutes after it...
1 tag
Gary Vaynerchuk - inspiration
Here we go …
Just when I thought about quitting … it all starts to get very interesting. Watched Gary Veynerchuk rant about social media and how to hustle etc. and it really reminded me of my passion … and why we started in the first place … but suddenly the ideas started to flow again - which is a good feeling.
“Passion beats the fuck out of skill” I think...