Vineyard Magazine

Vineyard Magazine – December 2022 – No Upper Limit
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – November 2022 – “There’s gold in them thar hills”
Vineyard November 2022
“There’s gold in them thar hills”
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – October 2022 – Meunier aka The Secret Weapon
Vineyard October 2022
Meunier aka The Secret Weapon
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – September 2022 – French Connection
Vineyard September 2022
French Connection
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – August 2022 – Stick to your Guns
Vineyard August 2022
Stick to your Guns
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – July 2022 – White From White
Vineyard July 2022
White From White
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – June 2022 – In the Pink
Vineyard June 2022
In the Pink
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – May 2022 – It’s that time of year again
Vineyard May 2022
It’s That Time of Year Again
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – April 2022 – Unexpected Heroes
Vineyard April 2022
Unexpected heroes
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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…

Vineyard Magazine – March 2022 – Brave Old World
Vineyard March 2022
Brave Old World
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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!…

Vineyard Magazine – February 2022 – Rosé
Vineyard February 2022
Rosé
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I have avoided writing about rosé wines in February for as long as I can remember. It’s too obvious a topic, and it has always felt just a little too cheesy. But this year, I think that it is incumbent on me to raise the romantic temperature and embrace the subject because we are incredibly…

Vineyard Magazine – January 2022 – Ambition
Vineyard January 2022
Ambition
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Is 2022 the year in which the collective UK wine scene capitalises on its ambitious plans? After all, there is a lot of very good wine in the system and more depth of stock and breadth of choice than ever before. Ambition is fundamental to our drive and determination, and I certainly sense…
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.