As I get older, I forget to take pictures. I get all caught up in the moment, then forget to document it, and in this day and age that’s sacrilege. It’s like the old saying “If a tree falls and nobody is around to hear it, then does it make a sound”, but more appropriately, … Continue reading IT GOT RAW: When James Met Isabelle… Again
If you follow various wine shops and bars on Instagram then last Thursday you may have seen numerous posts in big capital letters stating ‘BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU EST ARRIVE!’ with a photo of a store clerk doing a cheesy pose with a bottle of wine, or an artsy snap of a bottle. Wine retailers will regularly … Continue reading Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé à Sheffield!
It’s been a bit, folks. I have missed doing these and I’m glad to be back in the writer's chair! Something that I have come to appreciate recently is my library. Now, I’m not speaking about the plethora of unread books on my living shelf (makes for great conversations/decor). The library I’m talking about is … Continue reading A love story on libraries
It’s a common word that is just taken for granted if you know what it means but, if you don’t, it can sound pretentious. So, what is it?
I don’t know about you, but when the temperature starts to crank up, my appetite does the opposite. During Winter I can happily spend hours in the kitchen making rich stews and heart warming roast dinners, but as soon as the Summer hits all I want is something quick, light, easy and to avoid the … Continue reading Salads, Summer and Sipping!
This month’s Tuesday Night Tasting surrounded the theme of “Vinifera” and was hosted by the fine folks at Planter’s Ridge. As host/showrunner, I felt the need to up the presentation game. This involved deriving the word “Plane” from Planter’s Ridge, obtaining a Pilot costume, and introducing each vineyard, as though we were on an airline, … Continue reading Vinifera & Viniserve: An Update from ‘Captain’ Jardine
When I was growing up in the nineties I used to go on bike rides with my dad up to my grandparent’s house for Sunday lunch. I always thought it was nice how it appeared Dad saw the importance of us seeing our grandparents and getting us exercise however it later dawned on me that … Continue reading Sunday roasts, Frasier and Men Behaving Badly – The Wined Up guide to fortified wines
I mentioned in a previous post that Italy is like my Achilles heel when it comes to wine knowledge, so lately I’ve been making an effort to drink more Italian wine. (Ok, that was just an excuse to drink more in general.) A couple of weeks ago, Lily and I met up with Rachael Leach … Continue reading Fiobbo – Offida Pecorino 2015: A wine you never knew about, but need to know about
We recently met Aymeric and Jordan Amiel, two brothers who run Domaine des Amiel in Languedoc, France. These guys have a very clean approach, they don’t follow antiquated appellation laws and they make fucking delicious natural wine.
It dawned on me the other day that the two biggest wine fairs we attended this year have been celebrations of natural wine, but we haven't explained what natural/biodynamic wine actually is. Well fear no more, that’s about to change. But first… story time. I remember when I first got really into wine. It was … Continue reading Natural wine: what the f*ck is it?!
Wined Up 