Peter Ranscombe samples Loch Lomond distillery’s range of single malts at the Edinburgh International Festival. Trying something new is the best part of the Fringe. Going to see a show that you would never normally watch is half the fun of the world’s largest arts festival. And so it should be for Scotch too. I’ve… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Grape&Grain
Errazuriz wants to put Chile on the map
There’s no need to be snobbish when it comes to big brands, as Errazuriz shows with its high-scoring Chilean wines, writes Peter Ranscombe. Branded wine is an interesting phenomenon: for some, it’s the reassurance they need to part with their cash, safe in the knowledge that this bottle will taste the same as the previous… Continue Reading
Charles Heidsieck: Keeping something in reserve
Peter Ranscombe explores the use of higher proportions of reserve wines in Charles Heidsieck’s range of Champagnes. Walk along the aisle of any bottle shop or take a quick glance at a decent wine list and the choice of Champagne brands appears almost endless. It’s easy to dismiss France’s flagship sparkling wine as simply being… Continue Reading
Celebrating the work of ‘Our Fathers’
What finer tribute could there be to your dad than creating a bottle of wine in his honour? Peter Ranscombe finds out what inspired Giles Cooke to produce Our Fathers. It’s not often that I’ll write about a single bottle of wine in isolation. Then again, there aren’t many bottles with the rich backstory that lies behind… Continue Reading
Rhone Part 1: Syrah’s spiritual home
The Crozes-Hermitage area of the Northern Rhone produces only a single red grape variety, but Peter Ranscombe finds out just how varied its Syrah can be. “Syrah loves a view” – or so French winemaker Jean-Louis Chave once said. In the Crozes-Hermitage region in France’s Rhone valley, those grapes are spoiled for choice when it… Continue Reading
