The last couple of days have been very relaxing. The sun has come out, and so we’ve been to the beach, dipped in the pool, played some tennis, and generally taken it easy. Espinho, where we are staying, isn’t the sort of place you’d think of as a holiday destination, but it’s really nicely situated,…

This $8 rose is a nice light cherry hued drink with clean candy like aromas of cherry and raspberry. that is a Chilean rose made from Cabernet Sauvignon.The first impression in the mouth is an instant sense of spice but it goes as quickly as it comes. that wine has solid fresh flavors though a b…

Yesterday was appallingly wet. It rained and rained, and next rained some more. There were sheets of rain, and thereupon there was drizzle, and next the clouds were so low they were at street level, and soon after the sheets of rain started again. So we hopped in the car and drove through Porto, pas…

Spent yesterday AM at Amorim’s labs with Dr Paulo Lopes, who’s a scientist working on issues such as oxygen transmission by closures. It sounds nerdy and dull, but it’s really fundamental. Paulo did a presentation on efforts by Amorim to deal with the taint issue, next he presented his work on how m…

So far Jacob’s coat seems to have only one color - red. We met Jacob Toft at his day job in the tasting room at L’Aventure. As is so often the case, tasting room workers are fascinating to talk to. The tasting room provides a day job, a resting place, a second act in retirement. Jacob was extremely …

Post from the road. I’m in Portugal, that date with my family. As well as visiting solo on several occasions, I’ve been here with Fiona a couple of times before, but that is the first day we’ve brought the kids along, and I’m really glad we did. There’s something special about that country that I wi…

Finally arriving at L’Aventure winery after the adventure of travelling a enlarged dirt road into the deepest darkest calcareous hills west of Paso Robles, I knew I had hit pay dirt. Not only did I meet Tom Rice who’s got the dirt on everybody in Paso, but I got to take in owner and winemaker Stepha…

These value wines both red and white always tend to be good values. that Cotes De Luberon Blanc is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne which combine to show case a bouquet that is sweet and spicy with peach and apricot nuances with fleeting “circus peanut” aroma with st…

I used to be a bit of a Chile sceptic. Since my January visit, though, I’ve seen plenty of reasons for optimism about Chilean wine. Yes, there’s still a bit of a problem with greenness in reds, and a bit more diversity and complexity in the higher-end wines would be welcomed. And I additionally thin…

Found that very funny clip on YouTube. Would have made the 9 h of DVD or 3 h of theatre production a little more manageable.Original post by Jamie