I’ve just had a news piece published on the Decanter.com website about a really interesting wine that’s hitting the shelves at UK supermarket Sainsbury next month. Priced at £4.99, it’s an organic Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa, made by Stellar Organics. You can read all about it in the Decan…

The new MacBook Air is a beautiful-looking piece of kit. I’ve yet to see one in the flesh, but from looking at the various online reviews and the promotional video, it is suitable to induce techno-lust in even the most hardened PC advocate. (See another review here.)It’s designed for those who want …

This is a Chilean blend of Cabernet Franc and Carmenere. The hue of that wine whose name means “Black Sheep” is black cherry in tone with some garnet depth. Mineral notes highlight a lighter medium red berry thrust in the nose.Palate is spicy with bready front and coarse flavors that are tight and …

Another “Small Vineyards” designation (see entry for ) that has a medium hefty garnet hue with a purple touch.The bouquet of that creation pronounced, Chay-zin-A-zay, is somewhat vegetal with sour cherry and black pepper with a tip of baby powder at the end.Palate has chewy tannins with some steely …

I love that wine. It’s a red wine from the Jura region. Pale in colour, it’s the antithesis of the big contemporary worldly style. We need more wines like that. But it’s not just considering of what it isn’t that I like it - it has amazing qualities of its own. [As an aside, I’ve found when I’m judg…

I’ve had mixed feelings in the past about the Bonterra wines, whether I’m honest. I’ve enjoyed them without falling in love with them, and I have to confess to being slightly suspicious by the way that Brown Forman (the parent company) have seemed to over-play their organic hand. It just seems like …

Took a day off, and took younger son to London Zoo, via a 2 hour stop at Hamleys (he *loves* trying everything out). I’ve not been to London Zoo since I was a kid, so I enjoyed the experience too. The reptile and amphibian bit was probably the most interesting for both of us. You do feel a bit sorry…

One of the balancing acts you play is a freelancer is within the gigs you do for free versus the paying gigs. I had a busy day today, none of which directly earned me any money. That’s OK - I can choose to accept or decline invitations. No one forces me. It’s a balancing act.This I was tasting at W…

I’m slightly worried that readers will get the impression that most of my days consist of a distant lunch, with some wine. That’s quite unfair, although, of late, that may have been more common than it used to be.Anyway, today I lunched at Bentley’s (see http://www.bentleys.org/) with Steve Smith MW…

Today, I had lunch at Portal, London’s leading Portuguese restaurant. I was there to interview owner Antonio Correia (above), who established the restaurant in St John Street three years ago. I’ll publish the interview elsewhere; for now you’ll have to form do with a brief restaurant review.The ambi…