Monthly Archives: July 2009


‘Literally cannot stop thinking about making rum with the marrow bestowed upon me…’ So ran a tweet this afternoon from @foodstories (aka Helen Graves). And it took me back several years to Chester Street in Oxford, where I lived with several others in a house opposite a pub called the […]

Marrow Rum


Breaking news! In an effort to maintain their share of the world wine market, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal have decided that they will be collaborating in the future to present a combined front against the onslaught of New World wines… OK, OK, it could never happen. Even the […]

New World Wine Alliance




A couple of years ago, I was asked by someone to do a list of some of the more unusual aspects of Rhône Valley wines – here’s what I came up with… Hermitagé Wine from the hill of Hermitage was routinely shipped across France in the 18th and 19th century […]

10 things you didn’t know about the Rhône


Just had this photo through from the folk at Villa Maria, along with a copy of their 2009 Harvest Report (it’s here), showing the damage that working a vintage can wreak on your mitts. I’ve never actually worked in a winery but I did end up with similar coloured hands […]

Hands to the pump


Thanks Enotria for the six Rieslings that landed on the doorstep recently, two with corks, two with screwcaps and two with those very pretty Vinoloks. It’s been a rather soggy afternoon in the Pennines, but these brightened up matters considerably. More on this week’s First Taste page here.

Rieslings around the world