California: Variety is the spice of life

A series of recent tastings have reminded Peter Ranscombe about the diversity of wines available from California. ONE of the most-exciting aspects of visiting California back in March was learning about the wide variety of grapes being grown in the golden state. As I wrote at the time, there’s far more to Cali than over-oaked…

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Avoid accidentally poisoning your pets this festive season

Scottish pet owners are being urged to keep an extra eye on their four-legged friends this festive season. Vets Now says an astounding third of Scotland’s pet owners will experience an emergency this festive season, and Vets Now will see a 33% surge in calls to its Scottish clinics (Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock) in…

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Burns Night preparations get underway in New York

Members of the American Scottish Foundation are being invited to celebrate Robert Burns with them. Based in New York, they are looking for members and friends to join them on Friday, 19 January, as they celebrate ‘the Bard’ in association with the University Club. The evening will begin with a reception and whisky tasting –…

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Scotland rugby star and award-winning author headline charity fundraiser

Scottish Rugby’s points-record holder Chris Paterson MBE and award-winning author Alexander McCall Smith CBE have joined forces ahead of the Eric Liddell Centre’s inaugural fundraising dinner. The pair met ahead of the Going for Gold fundraising gala, which is taking place on December 5 at the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh, in a once-in-a-lifetime chance to…

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Charity fundraising dinner to help revamp Kilmartin Museum

A charity dinner to help preserve 5000 years of history is taking place this week. Kilmartin Museum, on Argyll’s west coast, is embarking on an ambitious £6.7m redevelopment project. The new museum will preserve and display many more of the archaeological finds from the Kilmartin Glen and around Argyll. Plans are advancing with major funders…

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Small is beautiful at Domaine Ferret

Just because a small producer is owned by a big company doesn’t mean it can’t create incredibly serious wines, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. WRITING about business as well as drinks has made me a bit sceptical when it comes to big-name wines. Time after time, I’ve seen bottles with eye-catching labels and creative monikers, only…

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1821: A new number for wine in Edinburgh

Peter Ranscombe joins one of Italy’s venerable wine families in Edinburgh for the launch of its inaugural ‘wine hotel’. EDINBURGH last night became home to The Wine House Hotel 1821, the first in a chain of hostelries being opened by the Zonin family. Zonin is best known for its prosecco, Italy’s most-famous sparkling wine, but…

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