Vineyard Magazine

Vineyard Magazine – June 2023 – Pushing the Envelope

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk I read a tweet from a fellow wine writer the other day.  He is someone I very much respect in our industry and he said, ‘Why isn’t the trade – and consumers – more excited about English wine? Is it dull?  Inconsistent? Not as good as we think?’  Of course, this is the point of Twitter – say something contentious…
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Vineyard Magazine – May 2023 – When you least expect it

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk I am always on the lookout for great bottles. I take pictures of labels, make hasty notes on my phone, and sometimes even accept random sips from strangers, but it is still amazing how many remarkable wines come to my attention when I least expect them.  I am often asked, “Do you manage to drink wine for pleasure?”  I…
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Vineyard Magazine – April 2023 – Value For Money

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk  Value for money is a curious expression. It means something a little different to each of us, but I imagine it does not mean the same thing as a ‘bargain’ to any of us. A bargain is something sold cheaply, a product or a service that is run-of-the-mill, everyday, not something special. Buy one get one free on loo rolls,…
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Vineyard Magazine – March 2023 – What’s in a name?

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”  Shakespeare used this line in Romeo and Juliet to suggest that the naming of things is irrelevant.  But is it?  I have selected three wines this week that use carefully chosen words to convey a deep sense of understanding…
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Vineyard Magazine – February 2023 – Nonconformists Unite

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk In a world of conformity, you want things that stand out, that catch the eye, with their point of difference or even a genuine and authentic USP. In our world, it is better still if this point of difference ‘catches the palate’, too. This month I have found three wines for you that taste incredible while at the same…
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Vineyard Magazine – January 2023 – New Year, New Wines

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk I contemplated writing a New Year’s Resolutions piece this month, but this is a somewhat outdated concept, and, as we know, no one keeps to their promises a couple of weeks into January anyway.  Some of my past NYRs have come true, like Hambledon moving out of clear glass and into green for their sparkling rosé, so I…
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Vineyard Magazine – December 2022 – No Upper Limit

www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk The expression ‘no upper limit’ often elicits one of two reactions – sheer terror or overwhelming excitement.  I suspect this depends on your state of mind, bank balance and, to a degree, your confidence.  The sparkling wine world is filled with opportunities to spend obscene amounts of cash, yet I imagine many of…
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Vineyard Magazine – November 2022 – “There’s gold in them thar hills”

Vineyard November 2022 “There’s gold in them thar hills” www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk Allow me the indulgence of a brief history lesson gleaned from a quick trawl around the dark recesses of the internet. Matthew Fleming Stephenson (1802–1882) was an American miner, geologist and mineralogist based in the US state of Georgia. He was one of…
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Vineyard Magazine – October 2022 – Meunier aka The Secret Weapon

Vineyard October 2022 Meunier aka The Secret Weapon www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk  The WineGB tasting in early September was by far and away the finest line-up of English and Welsh wines our country has ever seen.  I tasted 218 wines from no less than 54 wineries, and, aside from requiring a new set of gums by the end of the day, it was a roller-coaster…
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Vineyard Magazine – September 2022 – French Connection

Vineyard September 2022 French Connection www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk A great many of us have a French Connection. Mine is familial – a couple of grandparents, ages ago, make me a small percentage Gallic.  Whether our connection is in our blood or not, we in the wine business probably know more about the classic wines, regions and great French…
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Vineyard Magazine – August 2022 – Stick to your Guns

Vineyard August 2022 Stick to your Guns www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk It’s always nice to hear from readers and moments after my column was published last month, my Twitter feed sputtered into life and then within the hour, an email landed in my inbox.  It turns out that there is an English wine with ‘White from White’ written proudly on its…
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Vineyard Magazine – July 2022 – White From White

Vineyard July 2022 White From White www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk Blanc de Blancs is one of the first wine terms one learns while wandering through the foothills of wine lexicography. Why is it that wine terms always sound more refined in French? While it is debatable whether we will ever see ‘White from White’ written on a wine label, it is worth…
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I am a lifelong fan of English wines and I am extremely proud to have been asked to contribute to Vineyard Magazine from the very first issue published in January 2018.   Vineyard is a monthly, specialist publication for viticulturalists and winemakers in Great Britain.  I write the only consumer-facing article in the magazine highlighting three terrific wines of particular interest, tying them together along a singular theme – www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk.