Vineyard Magazine

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www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk I contemplated writing a New Year’s Resolutions piece this month, but this is a somewhat outdated concept, and, as we know, no one keeps to their promises a couple of weeks into January anyway.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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Vineyard Magazine – June 2022 – In the Pink

Vineyard June 2022 In the Pink www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk The world is awash with rosé wines, and we, in the UK, love them. The masses are seemingly mesmerised by the pale coral hues, straightforward flavours and the subliminal signal that summer will eventually turn up at some point.  From as early as January until around this time of year, the…
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Vineyard Magazine – May 2022 – It’s that time of year again

Vineyard May 2022 It’s That Time of Year Again www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk Around Easter time each year, my doorbell rings with renewed vigour and frequency as wine deliveries arrive thick and fast.  Most are new 2021 vintage releases, and many of these are new English wines.  It is late Spring; the flowers are in bloom, and it is an exciting…
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Vineyard Magazine – April 2022 – Unexpected Heroes

Vineyard April 2022 Unexpected heroes www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk Author's note - in the printed magazine, I made an error in suggesting that Hattingley Valley had made a lovely Charmat wine and I am incorrect.  So I have edited my copy below and hope that the online version of this article is corrected, too. This month, I have gathered together…
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Vineyard Magazine – March 2022 – Brave Old World

Vineyard March 2022 Brave Old World www.vineyardmagazine.co.uk I try to keep up to date with new releases, yet is it awfully hard to keep abreast of everything happening in our green and pleasant land, not least because there is so much going on!  This month, I have picked out three new brands, and one bottle is so new it has yet to be released!…
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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.