Wine

Several Rusters are involved in courses; Alice (Mansfield) goes to an art course on British modernism, Bob (Tickler) and Ivan ( Conway) on languages,  all at their local learning centre and I attend irregularly a wine course. There is a common denominator as in every one there is a a know-all [...]

Last Tuesday I attended a wine tasting devoted to Spanish wine and tapas. Spanish wine is not as fashionable as French and they do not produce the volume of Italy, the biggest producer of wine in the world (Spain is third after France). As wine region Spain is well-positioned to the south of that [...]

In the week I went to a wine tasting on non Provençal roses. Roses account for 11% of all wine sold in the UK. It’s an interesting case study on how wine tastes change. In the 70s and 80s it was unfashionable with consumers and unrated by the wine critics. Its introduction to the UK came [...]

Yesterday I attended a tasting of Trentino wines, the wine tutor having recently returned from a trip there. It’s not a region I know well and that I know it at all it is for political reasons as there is an independence movement there harking back to its Austrian governance. It is situated north [...]

Yesterday I attended an Italian wine and food evening. Italy is the biggest producer of wine in the world with more grape varieties (400-500) than any other country – France for example has only 150. Because Italy was only united in 1861, regional identities are still strong and this is [...]

Prosecco has so swamped the UK bubbles market that it now outsells champagne and we are its largest  importer. It’s not as if the surge was caused by an inspired advertising campaign as happened with Cinzano and Campari  in  the seventies. It became popular by selling cheap to supermarkets and [...]

The wine industry in all its forms is better than most in offering opportunities to women. There are several notable female wine critics – Jane MacQuitty and Jancis Robinson and half  of the writers on Decanter magazine. Last Thursday evening I attended  a tasting of South African and [...]