Pop one of these corks on Champagne Day this Friday…
This coming Friday, October 28, is Global Champagne Day. What better excuse do you need to say ‘cheers’ with some first-class fizz? asks Times drinks editor James Viner. France’s iconic fizz is pricey but dizzyingly celebratory. Peter the Great seemingly took four bottles of the stuff to bed every night, and rapper Jay-Z adored […]
Why Chardonnay wines have such grape expectations…
This week Times Wine Editor James Viner discovers four tasty and refreshing bottles of the massively popular Chardonnay, one of the world’s most widely-cultivated white wine grapes… Unlike Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay has relatively subtle aromas and flavours – dry white grape, growing and ripening without a struggle in a range of climates. High-quality (but […]
Try a different kind of orange crush
Ahead of this year’s National Orange Wine Day on Thursday, October 6, Times wine editor James Viner uncorks three ‘orange’ white wines that are certain to make an impression… Like red wines, these ‘orange wines’ – a term created in 2004 by UK-based wine merchant David Harvey – are white wines that are fermented […]
Four tip-top wines to toast Organic September with…
This month witnesses a drive to spread the word about the many benefits organic food and farming can bring to our climate, nature and our health. Here, Times Drinks Editor James Viner raises his glass to Mother Nature with four first-class organic wines Organic wines are on the up. Though tricky and risky in a […]
Raise a glass for the August Bank Holiday
Times’ Drinks Editor James Viner has something for all tastes with his pick of five brilliant bottles to enjoy as we celebrate this summer’s bank holiday weekend. It’s hard to believe that the August bank holiday (Monday, August 29) is already upon us. The long weekend at the end of the summer is the perfect […]
Cheers to seductive and challenging Pinot Noir
Times’ Drinks Editor James Viner picks four cracking bottles of this very old, beguiling red burgundy grape to celebrate International Pinot Noir day Day this August 18th… Much like the wine-obsessed protaganist Miles Raymond in the movie Sideways (2004), I’ve always been a fan of Pinot Noir – the famously finicky, early budding, thin-skinned, low tannin, […]
Three of the best summery red wines to chill
Bearing in mind that it has been in the twenties indoors recently, room-temperature red wine on a searing summer’s day is a calamity! You can lose a lot of the wine’s character since the fruit will be muted, the alcohol will stick out and the wine will taste soupy. A short dunk in the ice […]
Try these delicious Rieslings to be cheerful
When did you last drink Riesling? Much like undervalued sherry, which has curiously modest crowd appeal, Riesling is prized by wine aficionados but is strangely not at all mainstream. Simultaneously powerfully scented and flavoursome whilst exceedingly refined, nuanced, and layered, Riesling (pronounced ‘Reessling,’ not ‘Ry-sling’) – Germany’s signature grape – is also one of the […]
Think pink for these hot summer days
A cool glass of dry rosé is just the ticket for sipping on hot summer days. Rosé is still on a roll and is currently very possibly the hippest wine around, with sales rising annually. In 2021 we sank a record £717 million worth of it! And with every summer yet more exciting pinks are […]
Say Salud to Sherry this Summer
Sherry is a fortified wine which hails from the region around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucía, southwest Spain – a region of drought and baking heat. It’s a drink for all seasons, running the full gamut from bone dry to super-sweet, and one of the planet’s ultimate food wines. It starts out as a light […]
