Tidying things up before I go away: visas, flights, rendezvous, wines etc. I even manage to knock out an Echezeaux article in a spare few minutes. I take Lily and Daisy down to the ducks in Guildford on the River Wey, armed with a loaf of frozen bread that I hope defrosts by the time [...]
Filed under: lily & daisy | Tagged: ducks, mallards, tim west | Leave a Comment »
Writing all day. This Gaja article is dragging on and on interminably. In the evening, Tomoko and I sit down to watch Japan vs. Denmark with Lily and Daisy, who cannot sleep due to the long sultry nights and Daisy’s terrible eczema. Japan show more heart and passion than England could ever dream of mustering and [...]
Filed under: lily & daisy | Tagged: japan, world cup | 1 Comment »
Into London this lunchtime for a tasting of Craggy Range’s wines with winemaker Steve Smith MW in order to compared notes taken in New Zealand just prior to bottling in January with the wines in bottle (amazing how those Pinots seem to fill out.) I probe Steve about his views on biodynamics and alcohol levels…all [...]
Filed under: london tastings, new zealand | Tagged: craggy range, new zealand, southwest trains, steve smith mw | Leave a Comment »
The longest day of the year…the nights are drawing in…winter is coming! Today I have a rather lovely lunch in Vintners Hall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the German VdP. It is in a secret room: all wanescoated walls and a magnificent oval oak table around which sits the bottoms of wine writing royalty: Hugh [...]
Filed under: germany, london tastings | Tagged: big brother, gaja, german wine, kloster erbach, michael broadbent, vdp | Leave a Comment »
Today, we venture into London by train to say sayonara to Linden and Aiko, who are upping sticks to Hong Kong. Of course, a family trip requires considerable logistical planning to avoid stress. It all goes swimmingly well even though I have to sit with a 5- and a 3-year old perched on my lap [...]
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Into town in the morning to buy shoes for Lily & Daisy. I have tried binding their feet like in China, to stop their feet growing and save a bit of money, but it does not seem to be working. Lily chooses a pink pair with red lights in the soles, possibly visible from space, [...]
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Woooah. Big day. I’ve “bought” a house…or at least we have had our offer accepted. To be honest, I am still mentally traumatized after the catastrophic failure selling my old London flat and I already feel as if I am volunteering myself for a protracted torture courtesy of the country’s arcane method of buying a house. In the [...]
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Work all day putting together an article on Gaja, then into London for a meeting, where I witness first hand, a major London merchant trying not to drown under a tsunami of en primeur orders, as if the ridiculous prices are utterly irrelevent. Crazy…but that’s the way it is. Then down to the splendid Roberson Wine [...]
Filed under: bordeaux, en primeur 2010 | Tagged: 1989, bordeaux 2009, roberson | Leave a Comment »
Lunch with Dean Hewitson, this time, the correct day, which is always a bonus. It is educational to spend time not only with a winemaker, but with a group of restauranteurs on the front line and ask them which wines are the most populat or are customer really becoming more averse to high alcohol (a definite ”yes” [...]
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What a beautiful day. I spend the morning writing/researching in the dining room and then walk into Guildford for a tasting with Australian winemaker Dean Hewitson. This must be the first time I have ever been able to walk to a tasting in instead of catching the train into London. I arrive at Thai Terrace [...]
Filed under: london tastings | Tagged: dean hewitson, thai terrace | 1 Comment »
