Wine

Valpolicella, a "Valley of Cellars", is probably one of the most important wine-growing regions you have never heard of. Second only to Chianti in terms of total Italian DOC wine production, it is known colloquially as the "pearl of Verona" to locals, who enjoy everything from novello-style table wine to Classico and Superiore styles thanks to its plentiful bounty. The Bonacosta Valpolicella Classico 2016 is stereotypically intense claret that displays cherry aromas on the nose with inviting and attractive hints of...

Complex, mellow and packed full of flavour this week's wine choice is a Pinot Noir masquerading as a Burgundy. The delightful Yarra Valley-grown vino is packed full of deceptively French characteristics, with plenty of earthy and developed personality. Yet with a light and delicate composition it is very much the embodiment of everything that is good about Australia's famed wine growing region, saving you plenty of dough on a comparative bottle from continental Europe. Twenty pounds may sound a lot for a Pinot...

There's nothing quite like a wine with a good story, and New Zealand's Marisco Vineyards certainly aren't short of a tale or two. Descendent from the noble de Marisco family, whose members variously fell in and out of favour with the English monarchy in the 12th and 13th centuries, 'The King's Series' celebrates the extraordinary tales of the family through five wines, appropriately named The King's Legacy, The King's Thorn, The King's Favour, The King's Wrath and A Sticky End. The story starts...

Valentine's Day is around the corner and the hunt for the perfect meal is on for loved-up couples across the country. Oysters will be shucked, asparagus and chillis tossed and heart-shaped chocolates dispensed liberally, but what to drink? Wine can be the difference between a good meal and a great meal on Valentine's Day, and picking the right bottle can really show you care. So forget Echo Falls, cast aside Blossom Hill and indulge in something a little more thoughtful....

The first thing that strikes you about Le Faîte is its intriguing label. A wooden tag hangs from a wax seal in a nod to the winegrowers of the past who kept their wines under the clay soil and would mark the bottles in order to identify them as such. The clay conservation allowed to maintain the wines with a constant temperature and humidity, and it is a mark of quality that is preserved today. Although modern methods of storage...

Named after a tale of a Persian King, Jamsheed has been at the forefront of an Australian natural wine revolution. Ancient writings tell a tale of King Jamsheed, whose fondness for fresh grapes lead him to store grapes in jars over the winter. Throughout this time, the grapes would inevitably ferment, eventually set aside as ‘poison’. Some time later, one of King Jamsheed’s harem allegedly attempted to commit suicide, drinking from the poison jar. Realising that the ‘poison’ was pleasurable...

As we prepare to celebrate the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia, to quote Sheldon Cooper, the time seems right to take a journey along the old Pilgrim’s Way to celebrate a fizzy contender to Champagne produced in the garden of England. Sat atop of the final stretch of the Pilgrim’s Way into Canterbury, Westwell vineyard is steeped in history. With just over nine acres planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – the Champagne grape varieties – it’s Pelegrim...

“At least this rain is very good for the grapes,” announces Olympia Rizzardi of Guerrieri Rizzardi, a historic wine house in Italy’s Veneto region. It’s a wet Saturday morning and I’m perched under an umbrella, sheltering from the torrential downpour while traipsing the vineyards overlooking Lake Garda. Adverse weather aside, the Veronese countryside remains perfectly picturesque. Sun bleached marogne dry-stone buildings dominate the landscape, joined by rolling hills, Cypresses and Persimmons. Here, the grape yield is used to produce the...

Mulled wine is a Christmas staple in Britain, and nothing gets you in the festive mood more than the tastes and aromas of mulling spices heated with a rich bottle of red. According one of the earliest recipes found in a medieval cookery book from 1390 "Pur fait Ypocras" is made by grinding together cinnamon, ginger, galangal, cloves, long pepper, nutmeg, marjoram, cardamom and grains of paradise with red wine and sugar. But thanks to modern consumer trends we've largely done...