by Stuart George
On Friday 10 April 1663, Samuel Pepys – a senior administrator of the navy of England – wrote in his diary that he had that day been “Off the Exchange with Sir J. Cutler and Mr. Grant to the Royall Oak Tavern, in Lumbard Street, where Alexander Broome the poet was, a merry and witty man, I believe, if he be not a little conceited, and here drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan, that hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with.” This is not the first recorded mention of Château Haut-Brion. It is mentioned as “Hobrionno” in the 1660 cellar book of King Charles II – which shows how reputed the wine was in England in the 17th century – and has been traced as far back as January 1521 in a document discovered in the Gironde Departmental Archives that ...
by Stuart George
A while ago a colleague sent me some pictures of a an old bottle of Madeira that they’d “bought at a charity auction… No clues (about what it is) as it’s completely waxed and has maybe been redone.” Having stared intently at the photos of the label, and delved into my archives, I concluded that it was a bottle of 1810 Rumo da India Madeira. The Dutch East India Company used to pick up casks of Madeira wine and take them to India. The intense heat and constant movement of the ships had a profound effect on the wine and led to Madeira becoming a fortified wine that is heated in “estufas” to replicate the conditions of the long journey south. This bottle is probably one of the very oldest surviving examples of Madeira wine that made the trip to India and back in cask...
by Stuart George
Not having owned a television for more than 20 years, I have never watched Frasier, which was a 1990s American sitcom. But it came to my attention that Petrus 1945 is featured in the Frasier episode “Something Borrowed, Someone Blue”, broadcast in May 2000. The bottle is presented to Frasier Crane by his father. Frasier gasps and says. “My God, Dad! This is a 1945 Chateau Petrus!… it’s one of the rarest bottles in the world!… I’ve never even seen a ’45 Petrus!” His father replies: “Well, if you’re good, maybe Eddie’ll give you a glass out of his half.” Frasier is characterised as a “sophisticated” alumnus of Harvard University and Oxford University – the sort of person who’d know about fine wine. (Or at least thinks that they know about wi...
by Stuart George
The US TV series The Killing, first broadcast 2011-2014, has three main storylines: The police investigation into a murder; a family’s attempts to deal with their grief; and the fluctuating electoral fortunes of a political campaign that becomes embroiled in the murder case. In episode 12 “Beau Soleil”, Councilman Richmond offers a glass of Petrus 1977 to Detective Linden when she visits him at home. It’s an odd choice of vintage – unless price was the major consideration, in which case this is the least expensive vintage of Petrus currently available. It was probably the worst year of a difficult decade for Bordeaux. There was serious frost damage in Pomerol in March, followed by a wet summer. By early September it was looking as though it would be a write-off, with t...
by Stuart George
Although it was unsuccessful when released in 1987, the British black comedy film Withnail and I has become a cult classic. Written and directed by Bruce Robinson, who has always been a fan of fine wine – or of drinking, at any rate – the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail (played by Richard E. Grant) and the never-named “I” (Paul McGann) who share a delapidated flat in Camden Town in North London in 1969. Needing a holiday, they obtain the key to a cottage in the Lake District belonging to Withnail’s eccentric uncle Monty and drive there. The weekend holiday proves less recuperative than they expected. Withnail and I is saturated with alcohol. There is only one specific wine reference: Château Margaux 1953, which Withnail has purloined from Monty’s cella...
by Stuart George
I am honoured to present the wine label art of my late friend Valentino Monticello. Born in 1933 in Piovene Rocchette, near Vicenza, Italy, Valentino moved with his family to the town of Thiene at the age of five. There he was raised in a world of food, wine, art and music. His passion for opera had an early start. At the age of six, the artist played Trouble in a local production of Madama Butterfly. He was soon attending opera recitals at the open-air theatre in Verona, making the 90km journey by bicycle. His gifts for line and composition were evident from an early age. At 11, he was awarded first prize in a portrait competition organised by Professor Guerra from Trasche Conca. By 14, he was creating posters and labels for Distillery S. Giorgio of Bassano del Grappa. Valent...
by Jen Reyneri
When Luis and I went on our first date over two decades ago, his knowledge for wine was apparent. Oh, the way he swirled that glass of malbec! Holding the deep, reddish-purple liquid on an angle to the light, sticking his nose in the glass for a whiff, and proceeding to describe ripe notes of plum and berries were all indicators that this man really knew wine. Frankly, I was intimidated. My experience with wine was limited to communion. Shyly, I asked, “excuse my ignorance, but I thought wine was made from grapes?” He smiled, perhaps chuckled, and his passion for wine — sharing his knowledge and experiences expressed through a bottle — began to waft through the air like the ripe notes of dark fruit. I listened to his adventures through ancient French wine vineyards and dining by ca...
by Claire L. Torbeck, Certified Sommelier
Do you feel special when someone hands you a glass of bubbly wine in a pretty flute? It is festive and fun...and totally confusing when you are tasked with the job of purchasing sparkling wine for a holiday party, dinner or just because. To make your selection easier, let us look at some sparkling wine basics to enable you to buy with a measure of confidence. First, you are asked to buy ‘Champagne’ because that term is just like every tissue is called a ‘Kleenex.’ To cull the herd of production styles of wine, we will limit this to sparkling wine crafted by the time honored ‘traditional method’ (there is also sparkling wine made by tank method – Prosecco, for example – and others by infusing with carbonation, but, these, in my opinion, while less expensive, can be less...
by Claire L. Torbeck, Certified Sommelier
Just like Dorothy and her cohorts in the Wizard of Oz, there is a lot of chatter about the virtues of these wine ‘styles.’ Are these just marketing terms to capture our discretionary wine dollars or is there real substance and value? First, let us look at a bit of history. Once upon a time, vineyards were planted, fertilized, and protected by using manure and other animal by-products. After World War II, the focus was on growing food rather than on the production of munitions. It began the age of science in wine making which served to give people the illusion that everything could be controlled, and perfect wines could be crafted. That is, until the realization that using a lot of chemicals for any type of food production was not a good thing, for the health of the people or for t...
by Tim Leiwig
During these different and sometimes difficult times, it is likely the place(s) you were going for wine tastings are currently not offering them. We need to explore alternatives. This is a great time to seek out wines from other regions in the USA or countries or other regions in other countries that perhaps you have little or no knowledge. You can do some research online about the area of which you have interest and learn about the wines they make and if they are available where you live, or can be shipped to you. While you certainly can try an international grape variety from somewhere else (international grape varieties are grown in numerous places throughout the world, i.e. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir); consider venturing out and try a grape that is indigenous to...