What makes a Fine Wine fine?
We see the term fine wine used all the time in restaurant wine lists, in pubs and wine bar windows, in wine shops and supermarkets, in newspapers, magazines – everywhere. But what actually is fine wine? How is it different to regular wine? What should a fine wine taste like? Great questions! I tried to […]
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Burgundy, California?
Many of us confess to a love of red Burgundy, however, for most of us, it is a conditional love. There are too many occasions when an expensive bottle is opened with high expectations and the first taste brings a feeling of well, disappointment. The wine often feels insubstantial, thin and acidic. At the best […]
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The bigger and bolder the better
“In life, you tend to be straightforward and decisive. You enjoy intense flavours. A big, bold red wine would be your go-to wine.” If this is you, and there are many Winecroft members like you, the needle on your Winecroft Wine Style Meter will be pointing very much towards the full-bodied direction. In this case, […]
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The house wine at your local Italian restaurant in 2020 could be…Vodka!
Bars and restaurants are just starting to open up across Europe after the COVID-19 lockdown but what has happened to the millions of bottles of wine that would have been enjoyed by customers during the time the lockdown has been in place and what will that mean for the 2020 vintage? The global wine market […]
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Will restaurants ever be the same again?
Since the world went into lock-down in March, the doors of the 25,000+ restaurants in the UK have remained firmly shut. The key questions now being asked by many of us are “How many will ever open again?” and for those that do manage to open, “Will it be the same as it was before?” […]
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Drinking less but better
Drinking wine has been a constant and positive feature in society, central to many cultures around the world. But while the enduring place of drinking wine within human history is well documented, it’s also true that the relationship we have with alcohol has changed many times. Each generation has its own habits and styles and […]
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Wine in self-isolation
The sound of a cork being pulled from a bottle of good wine is the highlight of the day for many of us currently in self-isolation. When you’ve been trying to work from home while persuading bored teenagers to knuckle down with their school work or balancing toddlers on your knees with one hand and […]
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Chez Bruce – The Michelin starred restaurant where chefs eat
Chez Bruce, a smart French restaurant on the corner of Wandsworth Common in London, has great credentials. It is a staple every year on the top lists of restaurants where chefs go to eat. It is also one of the Top 100 London Restaurants for Wine Lovers, as voted recently by the drinksbusiness industry publication. […]
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The Dirty Secret of the £5 bottle of wine
When it comes to buying wine, how much should you pay. According to a recent study by drinks specialist, Harpers, over half of UK wines drinkers wouldn’t spend more than £5-6 on a bottle of wine. Are they right? Are we paying too much for a decent bottle? Does quality always increase in line with price? […]
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Wine makes you skinny
We already know that wine makes us wise (Winecroft insights). More great news – wine also makes you lose weight! A study from Oregon State University, where they have been looking into which dietary choices we can make to maintain and improve health, found that ellagic acid in wine helps reduce fatty liver (a leading cause […]
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Wine makes you wise
Wine makes you wise. It also makes you happy. It makes you healthy. It also makes you skinny. This is not fake news put out by wine drinkers to justify their favourite hobby. These are facts based on extensive scientific research. As the public health experts turn their sights on the perils of alcohol, to […]
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Wine is getting warmer
Vines for wine production have traditionally been grown between 30 and 50 degrees north and south of the equator. Have a look at a globe and you will see that all the major wine producing areas are in these bands – Europe, California, Australia, Argentina/Chile, South Africa are all there. Note the UK is north […]
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Don’t be a Turkey with your Christmas wine choices
It’s several centuries since turkey began replacing peacock and goose to be the centrepiece of Christmas dinner in the UK. King Henry VIII is believed to have been an early adopter in 16th Century England. These days, not everyone eats turkey on Christmas Day. There are now a lot of challengers including steak and venison […]
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Age before beauty?
A lot of people think that all wine improves with age, but this isn’t the case. Some of us drink wine that is 10, 20 or even 30 years old, however around 98% of all wine out there is not meant to last this long. In fact, most of the wine we buy in our […]
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Red wine – to chill or not to chill?
You most definitely can drink red wines chilled and they can be perfect for late summer drinks. But not all red wines are suited to a good chilling. So how do you decide? The first thing to consider is the body of the wine. A full-bodied Australian Shiraz or a Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the southern Rhône […]
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Why wine is not grape flavoured!
Why do wines smell and taste like nearly every fruit you can think of except for grapes? How can a wine taste like lemons and honey on toast? To answer these questions, we must be more precise with our definitions. Most of us use the terms “taste” and “flavour” interchangeably, but physiologists define these as […]
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That bassline tastes so good!
Ever wondered why a glass of wine tasted so good on one occasion while the same wine really didn’t hit the mark on another. It could have been due to the music you were listening to! Music can change your perception of food and drink, according to research carried out by Professor Charles Spence, professor of […]
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Organic vs. Biodynamic vs. Natural Wine – What’s the Difference?
Organic vs. Biodynamic vs. Natural Wine—What’s the Difference? Increasingly, wine drinkers are conscious not only about their own health but also the health of the planet. They are looking out for more ethical, sustainable and responsible products. This has led to an expanding range of wines labelled as organic, biodynamic and natural wines. But what […]
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