Keeping Wine Fresh: Best ways to keep an open bottle fresh
Can’t quite finish that Aussie Shiraz? BEVERLEY BLANNING MW looks for the best way to keep an open bottle fresh, as she tests a range of stoppers
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'Surprise' at Wines of Chile Awards
The world of Chilean wine was turned on its head last week as the results of the fifth Wines of Chile Awards were announced in Santiago.
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Sustainable Viticulure: The New Green?
Sustainable is the word of the moment for wineries aiming to be environmentally friendly. But what does it actually mean, asks BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
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Glass Shapes: How Many Do You Really Need?
A lot of fuss about nothing? Do different glass shapes really enhance anything more than your interior décor, asks BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
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My passsion for wine: Tom McLoughlin
The Australian owner of luxury hotel group Per Aquum has built a huge 10,000-bottle wine cellar at one resort. Beverley Blanning MW finds out whether his own wine collection lives up to those of his hotels
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I Wish They All Could Be Old Californian
It was always assumed that Bordeaux aged better than California – until the 30-years-on Paris tasting this May, when old Californians outshone ageing Bordelais. So will today’s concentrated, alcoholic Californian Cabs go the distance, asks Beverley Blanning MW
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High alcohol wines on the way out: Marks & Spencer
Major UK supermarket Marks & Spencer is predicting a drop in consumer interest in higher-alcohol wines – and will source more wines ‘at 12% rather than 14% alcohol'.
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MWs raid cellars for one-off auction
Masters of Wine across the world have been unearthing treasures from their cellars to donate bottles to fundraising auctions taking place at the end of this month.
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Elvis would have done wonders for wine, MWs told
Wine marketers have missed a trick by failing to provide meaningful links between wine and music, the MW Symposium heard last month.
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Perception of wine smells 'unique as fingerprints'
Clues to understanding why we all perceive wines differently were unveiled by an American scientist at the Masters of Wine Symposium in Napa.
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Music, mime, farce - and wine - in sommelier challenge
One of the most prestigious sommeliers’ prizes has been won by a Scandinavian for the second time running.
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MW symposium to test critics' taste buds
The world’s top wine critics will have their taste buds scientifically tested this summer at the four-yearly Institute of Masters of Wine Symposium.
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Wine Consultant: Tailored to your taste
‘Cash-rich, time-poor’ are the by-words of every self-respecting professional. So now that we can get personal service to customise every aspect of our busy lives, can we do the same for our wine buying? Stressed mother of two Beverley Blanning MW finds out
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Stuart Rose: My passion for wine
Away from the pressure of demanding shareholders, the boss of UK retail giant Marks & Spencer chooses to unwind by feeding his ‘addiction’ to top-end wines, writes BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
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Silent Partner: Oak Flavour and Grapes
Grapes and oak are natural partners. When used well, oak can add as much to a wine’s flavour as the grapes themselves, as BEVERLEY BLANNING MW discovers.
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Sale of historic Russian wine fails to attract bidders
A sale of historic wines from Ukraine’s Massandra collection failed to excite interest last week at Sotheby’s in London: 63% of the lots failed to sell.
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Touriga Nacional - Nacional Hero
The Douro discovered a long time ago that Touriga Nacional can play a starring role in red wines as well as port. Now the south is getting in on the act, and the resulting wines are deep-coloured, elegant and concentrated, says BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
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Les Toqués des Dentelles: Cotes du Rhone Villages
A band of Côtes du Rhône Villages winemakers claiming to be a bit mad have formed a unique club. BEVERLEY BLANNING MW meets the talented Toqués des Dentelles
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First Italian-Chilean joint venture
The first Italian-Chilean joint venture has just been announced in Chile – between Marchesi Antinori and Chilean winery Haras de Pirque.
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A France Apart: Alsace wines
The old wine villages of Alsace have a timeless beauty. Immaculate streets, colourful, half-timbered houses and overflowing window boxes provide evidence of the region's long and illustrious history. Viticulture was well established here by the second century AD and today the region produces nearly 20% of all the still white wine in France. Yet in many ways, Alsace wines are still seen as wines for the connoisseur and are less well understood than the other classic wines from the rest of France.
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Good times in Chablis wine country
Talk to any French winemaker and before long you're likely to hear the familiar grumbles about their lot. If it's not the weather, it's the unfair competition from New World wines robbing them of their market share or, failing that, the endless red tape that binds a country already hidebound by regulations. But a couple of hours south of Paris, in the ultra-traditional wine country of Chablis, there is an air of serenity. Producers have just enjoyed a near-perfect 2002 vintage and the wine is selling better than ever. In the words of winemaker Michel Laroche: 'In Chablis we have no reason to complain. Nobody's crying here.'
