Posts by Reporter
Unfamiliar wines in familiar places
PETER RANSCOMBE MENTION the word “Sancerre” and most wine drinkers will immediately think of a dry white wine, then slip the name “Beaujolais” into conversation and they’ll picture a light and fruity red. We’re all guilty of it – we taste a wine we enjoy from a specific region and it becomes fixed in our mind,…
Read MoreGoing beyond bubbles
PETER RANSCOMBE FLICKING through the pages of a wine textbook sometimes feels like looking back at an old photo album. There on the pages are all the old friends – from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir through to Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and that cheeky wee Sauvignon Blanc. Then you reach the pages about England…
Read MoreAlternatives to Chablis
PETER RANSCOMBE CHABLIS will always hold a special place in my heart. As a red drinker, it was the white that opened the door for me to a whole world of elegant and exciting wines, eventually leading to delights such as riesling and gruner veltliner. That’s why last year’s news sent a shiver down my spine…
Read MoreAt home in Glasgow
Scotland’s Ideal Home Show celebrates a major milestone and you can join in on the festivities by indulging in their new food and drink festival. Returning to Glasgow bigger and better than ever for their 70th anniversary on 26 – 29 May 2017, Scotland’s leading homes event has now added The Eat & Drink festival…
Read MoreLochaline school children première their short film to conserve rare species
The freshwater pearl mussel is one of the rarest species found in Scotland and has been pushed to extinction on some rivers as a result of illegal pearl fishing, pollution and dredging. However, whilst great effort is directed at conserving cute and fluffy animals here and abroad, the slightly awkward, ugly ones get less attention.…
Read MoreRoyal Academy of Culinary Arts Scotland to host dinner in City of Glasgow College training restaurant
The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Scotland is teaming up with City of Glasgow College to host a one-off gastronomic evening in the college’s new city centre training restaurant, Scholars on Wednesday 29 March. A unique four course dinner will be prepared by college students in collaboration with some of the country’s most talented chefs.…
Read MoreCalifornia Part 1: Finding a sense of place
PETER RANSCOMBE OAKÂ can be a double-edged wooden sword in winemaking. At its best, it can impart aromas and flavours of vanilla and sweet spices like cinnamon and cloves, as well as bringing a rounded mouthfeel to a wine. At its worst, the oak can dominate, overpowering the primary fruit and leaving drinkers checking for tiny…
Read MoreCalifornia Part 2: Critters in the vineyard
PETER RANSCOMBE AT THE top of a very tall pole in the Trefethen Family Vineyard, there sits a box. And in that box, there lives a family of barn owls. Over the course of a year, that single family can eat more than 2,000 gophers or “critters”, helping to control one of the pests that…
Read MoreCalifornia Part 3: Diversity in the winery and in the glass
PETER RANSCOMBE THINK you know Californian wines? Think again. They’re mostly white zinfandel or blush aren’t they, with some over-oaked and over-ripe chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons thrown in at the top end, right? Wrong. If California was a nation then it would be the world’s fourth-largest wine producer, behind Italy, France and Spain. That scale…
Read MoreYoung modern makers create an environmentally friendly bird hide in Wigtownshire
A leading ecological building designer has worked with six young people to create a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly bird hide at an RSPB Scotland reserve. The Modern Makers scheme, run by the Upland arts development organisation, was completed at the weekend when the structure was lifted into place on the side of a lagoon near the…
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