Variety is the spice of Australian life
POSTED ON 24/05/2009A recent survey conducted by research group Wine Intelligence shows that wine drinkers haven’t much of a clue about New World wine regions. As against 94% awareness of Bordeaux in the UK and 80% in the US, followed by Champagne (93% UK; 75% US), only 10% of US respondents had heard of the Barossa Valley, and 12% of Marlborough in the survey, which polled 2,000 regular wine drinkers in the US and a 1,000 in the UK.
Fun of the London Wine Fair
POSTED ON 17/05/2009Another year, another London Wine Trade Fair done and dusted. I don’t always look forward to the LWTF with the greatest anticipation. Excel in Docklands is not the most soulful venue on earth after all, although standing outside on the river on a sunny day can be pleasantly diverting.
A Nasty Smell
POSTED ON 10/05/2009Much time, money and energy has gone into the investigation of the rubbery taint that some South African wines exhibit. The late David Wolfe, wine writer, used to call it ‘the taste of apartheid’ while the Masters of Wine who visited South Africa likened it to a ‘rusty nails’ smell.
Kenji Ichishima at Sake No Hana
POSTED ON 04/05/2009The highlight of last week was the sake dinner put on at Sake No Hana in conjunction with Decanter Magazine. It was their first ever sake dinner and while we were nervous about getting enough bums on seats, we ended up with nearly 70, which was just about the perfect number.
