Winelands Uncorked

When I was a child I knew that I was growing up when I noticed that, at the table, I was putting more than one food item on my fork. Wine is somewhat similar in that you know that you are 'growing up' when you realise that you have stopped drinking wine for its effect...

Corks or screwcaps? Haven't we all read or heard of the pros and cons for each?  After all, we know there is a serious need to severely regard the oxidation process. In essence, the romance of the cork is giving way to the more sterile (in more ways than one)...

Once upon a time, it was fashionable to drink bubbly from a shallow, bowl-shaped glass called a 'Coup', reputedly to have been modelled on Marie Antoinette's left breast. Then science stepped in and revealed (after how many experimental drinks ?) that the technically...

Grapes ripen, are harvested, and made into wine. Then comes the awkward part, how to sell the stuff? This exercise is compounded by ever-increasing competition in the market place so how does one manage to elevate one's product to the required visibility? Not easy....

Madeira is internationally famous for one specific wine, simply called 'Madeira' and it all started in 1419.  Portuguese navigators discovered two islands in the Atlantic in 1418, Deserta and Porto Santo. From the latter they could see dark cloud formations on the...

In April 1995  our valley had a visit from a group of winemakers from the southern Rhone valley, specifically,  the Cotè du Luberon bordering Provence in France. Being mindful that their forefathers had contributed to the settlement of Huguenots here in 1688, they...