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© 2010-2019 Steve Slatcher
Author Archives: Steve Slatcher
When is a flaw not a fault? When it’s a taint
I have been doing a lot of thinking about wine faults recently – firstly as a result of attending a wine faults workshop organised by Jancis Robinson and her team, then through considering some comments about homemade wines in Eastern Europe … Continue reading
How I got hooked on wine
Origins are often shrouded in the mists of time, and alternative versions of the origin narrative develop. My love of wine is no different, and two stories emerge from the vinous haze. The first is more outward-looking. I started going to wine tastings … Continue reading
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Homemade wine – eliminate or celebrate?
In Caroline Gilby’s recent book The wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, she is rather scathing of homemade wine. She explains how it is estimated to account for up to half the wine consumption of Bulgaria, and is regarded by the locals as an authentic product, from the heart, and … Continue reading
Wine snobbery, and how to discourage it
A few years ago I wrote about wine snobs, but I am not entirely happy with that post. It was mainly a mini-rant about how the media bandies the term around. That still annoys me, and it is increasingly done … Continue reading
Tsigani Gogo, a Georgian wine by Laura Siebel & Niki Antadze
For several reasons I found this wine both interesting and distinctive. Delicious too. The first impression is the striking label, presumably depicting a tsigani gogo (gypsy girl), and the unusual blue bottle with a red wax seal. Now blue is … Continue reading
A week of food and wine in Split, Croatia
A week ago we returned from a week in Split, Croatia, and I share here some of our food and wine experiences. This break was not particularly wine-focussed, and we did not visit any local producers, but we did drink wines made … Continue reading
Georgian wines from M&S and Waitrose
After having written quite a bit recently about Georgian wines that are not easy to get hold of in the UK, and sometimes frankly impossible, I thought I should investigate two that you can pick up in supermarkets. In fact, … Continue reading
Wine experts, and the wisdom of crowds
It’s a strange thing, expertise. In many areas, I think to call yourself an expert in a very broad subject would sound rather silly. I used to work in engineering research and I don’t recall anyone calling themselves an engineering expert, but there … Continue reading
Nero Oro – Nero d’Avola appassimento from Sicily
Nero Oro, Appassimento, Nero d’Avola, Sicilia DOC, The Wine People, 2017, 14.0%. This is available from Majestic for around £9 if you “mix six”, otherwise £10. Oh, and it really is a Sicilia DOC wine as stated above, rather than the IGP … Continue reading
Vineyards, Rocks, and Soils – book review
This is a review of Vineyards, Rocks, & Soils – The Wine Lover’s Guide to Geology, by Alex Maltman, a book published earlier this year, by Oxford University Press which probably explains the unnecessary comma in the title. I picked it … Continue reading