Greater Manchester’s Boutinot Wines has come up with a winning formula, argues Sarah McCleery fresh from the importer’s London annual tasting. The range includes an above average number of keenly priced wines, with a clear knack for identifying people and places that delivery quality and interest at sensible prices, plus the team itself were really clued up with with a passion for their products.
“We believe in supporting all those who choose this profession, regardless of their culture, gender, ethnicity or religion.” That was very much the spirit in which William Wouters, president of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI), wanted to hold the organisation’s general assembly and a chance for the great and good of the sommelier world to come together to discuss a wide range of issues. David Kermode travelled to Monaco to report on what happened.
Ugandan rum, AI-generated wine, Coppola’s debut, ‘SuperRomans’ and terroir-obsessed wines from Spain, Lebanon, Greece and New Zealand, Enotria&Coe’s Annual Tasting 2024 seemed to have it all – alongside all its major brands, of course. Peter Dean tasted round the 146 producers, focussing on 12 producers that are new, had exciting new products or were so on-trend they had to have a mention.
Senior hospitality chiefs were in a fighting mood at this week’s Northern Restaurant and Bar show in Manchester on the back of last week’s much maligned Budget that might have seen a freeze in alcohol duty, but none of the much needed measures the sector was demanding in order to provide the urgent help so many operators are asking for. Despite the setbacks industry chiefs said the sector needs to stay strong and united so that it can take the fight into this year’s general election, reports Jonathan Caswell.
The Real Wine Fair in a nutshell. A two-day artisan wine and drinks grower event that celebrates the wines of small producers who farm organically, biodynamically and regeneratively and make low intervention and natural wines. This year around 185 producers from 20 countries will be coming to London’s Tobacco Dock to take part on April 28-29 with over 900 wines to taste and explore. Here founder and chief organiser, Doug Wregg of Les Cave de Pyrene, sets out what to expect from this year’s fair and where he sees the world of “Real Wine” going.
Picking your 10 favourite wines is always a tough call, but when it is from the many hundreds of jewels that sit in the crown of Armit Wine’s 2024 portfolio it is an almost impossible brief. But this was the task we set Justin Keay – to find his favourite wines for working in premium on-trade. Of course, Sassicaia 2021 made the final cut but what of the others? And how many of them were going to come from Armit’s considerable Italian range?
As Alliance Wine celebrates its 40th year, its 2024 portfolio tastings were a perfect opportunity for its producers and clients alike to mark the journey so far. We sent The Buyer’s Mike Turner along to the London tasting to discover the good and the great of the wines on show, and report back on which wines deserve a place on your wine list.
A positive reception was given to Koshu of Japan (KOJ) as it held its 15th annual trade tasting at 67 Pall Mall in London last month, with ten Japanese producers showcasing their Koshu wines. Leona De Pasquale caught up with producers, UK importers, and Isa Bal MS to discuss the opportunities and challenges for Koshu wines in the UK and why the on-trade should be enthusiastic about Japan’s signature wine grape variety.
“These guys are starting to turn Italian wine upside down. It’s only the beginning. It’s even harder in Italy, that it was South Africa, to bring about this change, as it’s a much bigger industry and more spread out, but it’s happening for sure.” That’s why Robin Davis, founder of Swig, believes there is a now a new wave winemaking scene happening in Italy similar to the new wave it was so quick to jump on in South Africa nearly 10 years ago. A winemaking movement that he believes has the potential to re-imagine the wines – including those made from maturing grapes in beehives – that we start to see on premium wine lists in wine merchants and our most ambitious wine-driven restaurants. Ahead of Swig’s potentially breakthrough new wave tasting of Italian wines in London on March 18, Davis explains exactly why Italy is now “a breeding ground for new talent and needs to be taken seriously.”
The team behind the launch of new Champagne Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame 2015 rosé believes so much in its quality and structure that they like to decant the wine and serve it in a Burgundy glass so that the bubbles dissipate. Beyond this, this philosophy could be an indication of where Champagne could be headed as a category, as Victor Smart discovered at its UK launch which was accompanied by an eight-course dinner prepared by chef Sally Abé.
“Once you’ve added one Portuguese wine [to your list], you can easily add a second or a third, as they will all be so different.” That’s the secret of Portuguese wines which Frederico Falcão, chairman of the ViniPortugal board, hopes the UK wine trade and press can discover for themselves at the Wines of Portugal Grand Trade Tasting that is taking place in London later this month. Here he sets out what buyers and the press can expect from an event that promises to showcase the best wines from most Portuguese wine regions.
In 2008 , in a blind tasting, Decanter Magazine rated the 2005 vintage of Château Pédesclaux above the wines of Lafite and Latour. A fifth growth and a near neighbour of Mouton Rothschild, the estate has always had massive potential and was always ripe for restoring to former glories. This it duly has been under the guidance of French-Swiss property tycoon Jacky Lorenzetti, who has completely overhauled the vineyards, built a new state-of-the-art winery and changed the style of the wine with a move it calls Cabern-isation. Peter Dean tastes nine vintages of Pédesclaux, picks out a couple of winners and hears from the team how the estate is getting future-proofed for the years ahead.
The Star Wine List of the Year UK with The Buyer was the chance to shine the light on and reward some of the leading venues, hospitality operators and individuals who are helping to promote and bring the best quality and value premium wines to diners all over the country. A chance, crucially, to also bring together sommelier teams and restaurant owners and give them the chance to enjoy some time away from their busy venues and celebrate their own success in being named a finalist in the 2024 awards. Here’s who was shortlisted and which restaurants were named as winners.
Bibendum’s themed tasting events continued last week with Through the Looking Glass, a comprehensive tasting that developed the theme that to flourish and evolve the on-trade must encourage people to try something new, especially by-the-glass which it sees as key to sales. Justin Keay found plenty of wines that that had Drink Me written all over them as he followed the white rabbit down the rabbit hole.
March will be a milestone month for Greencroft Bottling as it marks the move into its enormous new home, hailed by founder Tony Cleary as “the most sustainable building of its kind on the planet”. Greencroft Bottling celebrates its 21st birthday later this year and, by that time, it should be settled in to its new County Durham HQ, which will also house spacious offices. The expansion will offer the opportunity to more than double production capacity, but as Greencroft Bottling’s managing director, Mark Satchwell, tells David Kermode, in a rare interview, the move is about giving the business a sustainable future and a chance to adapt to the next generation of formats, which he firmly believes will continue to include glass.