Column - Durello, Italy’s trendiest sparkling wine
Durello is Italy’s coolest sparkling wine. Made from the Durella grape, it offers austere, steely, mineral characteristics. »
(Journal) Judging at IWCB in Bucharest, Romania
Last week I flew to Bucharest to take part in IWCB for the second time. I first attended the Bucharest International Wine Contest back in 2017, and having missed the event last year when it was held in Iasi, I was delighted to return to look into developments across the »
(Journal) A few days in Soave and the Venetian hills - Part 1
I woke up one day in early May to find two, presumably unrelated, emails waiting for me. The first alerted me to a UK trade campaign intended to highlight one of the Veneto's most misunderstood wines under the rather fun banner of Summer of Soave. The second was an invitation »
(Journal) Dining at Michelin Starred L'Oustalet in Gigondas
Here are a few moments from a fabulous lunch in the village of Gigondas. Michelin starred L’Oustalet (awarded earlier this year) is a collaboration between the Perrin family of Chateau Beaucastel (Chateaneuf-du-Pape fame) and highly acclaimed chef Laurent Deconinck who has been expressing his interpretation of Provençal cuisine for »
I'm a VinItaly Ambassador
After years of working with Italian wines I was delighted to be selected to join the VinItaly International Academy program and attempt the exam to become an VinItaly International Amabassador.I passed : ) »
(Journal) Judging at Citadelles du Vin 2019, France
Back in Blaye for the second time! In mid March I spent a few days judging at Citadelles du Vin, a small but long-standing competition held in Blaye, just across the Gironde from Bordeaux. The afternoons were filled with various visits - Lunch at Chateau des Tourtes in Saint-Caprais-de-Blaye and »
(Journal) My first time at Mundus Vini, Germany
Impressions of Mundus Vini 2019....Mundus Vini has grown exponentially since its conception by the Meininger publishing house in 2001. It's importance in Germany, but also across the whole wine is demonstrated by the almost 12,000 samples that are submitted for judigng. The purpose of the competition is to »
(Journal) Damien Petit of Domaine Desire Petit visits Mistral
On Wednesday the 6th of Feb Damien Petit came to Mistral to introduce his fabulous Jura wines to some of Chester's wine lovers. As the latest generation to oversee this long standing family business, Damien runs the almost 30 hectare estate in Pupillon. Alongside his sister, he has embarked on »
Plans for 2019
Friends,Having broken the back of January I'm pleased to reach out with my first update of 2019. Last year I worked hard on launching Vinorandum, my ambitious plan to develop a wine search engine platform. Clearly there is still a lot of work still to do but I would »
Cellar Highlights for Mistral Wine Bar - January 2019
What a year 2018 was! After just a few short weeks of being open word seemed to spread around Chester and our little reputation for creating a cosy, intimate wine space made its way onto social media and into the local paper. Last year we showed some amazing wines and »
(Journal) Hosting an Alpine Wine Tasting at Mistral
We held our first wine tasting event at Mistral since its opening in September. Hopefully it will be the first of many, but we teamed up with Ben Drury of Yorkshire merchant Alpine wines to introduce customers to some of the boutique names hiding in the various shadows of the »