Month: October, 2015

Cloudy Bay turns 30

In a new post, Gareth Birchley – Fine Wine Buyer for Asia – details a unique dinner celebrating Cloudy Bay’s 30th anniversary, with a vertical tasting of vintages back to 1987 confirming his belief that Marlborough Sauvignon is truly age-worthy. Wine is not a job, it’s a passion. In this industry, if you live and […]

Essential ingredients: truffles

This month, our Head Chef Stewart Turner looks to the heady scents (and even headier prices) of the white truffle to inspire two simple but sensational dishes. Meanwhile, Demetri Walters MW selects the perfect vinous accompaniments. On the table: The Alba truffle festival, which runs until 15th November 2015, sees the start of the truffle […]

The best bottle-filled books

Our Chairman Simon Berry has compiled a short list of those literary works that he deems ‘essential’ for every young wine-lover; here he introduces, and justifies, those titles that made the cut. When I got my first proper job in the wine trade, in November 1976, my father gave me a copy of Hugh Johnson’s […]

Experiments at altitude

Our Burgundy Director – and intrepid explorer – Jasper Morris MW reports on a recent excursion to China’s Shangri-la, scouting out the potential of vineyards planted at dizzying heights in the Yunnan province. Shangri-la, or Xiānggélǐlā, or Zhōngdiàn, or indeed Gyalthang in Tibetan, are all names for the same magical place in north-west Yunnan. It […]