Italy: From fine wine backwater to Sassicaia superstar March 27, 2015 It is only in the last 40 years that Italy has been re-discovered and recognised as a high quality wine producer – but now it is a source of a great variety of fine wines. There are an estimated 1,000 vitis vinifera varieties cultivated in Italy and it has more than 300 different wine producing regions [...]
California: Where fine winemakers are free to experiment March 27, 2015 Wine production began in California with Spanish missionaries producing sacramental wine. The ensuing 1849 California gold rush resulted in the production of wine for commercial purposes, and the planting of vineyards increased, particularly around the regions of Sonoma, Napa and Santa Clara. By the end of the 1800s, California was producing 1.1 million hectare [...]
From Rioja to Rueda, there’s been a revolution in Spanish fine wine March 27, 2015 Spain is the third largest wine producing country in the world and has more area under vine than France and Italy. Cadiz has seen vines cultivated since 3,000 BC. Since Spain joined the European Union in 1986, it has undergone a huge wine revolution. Spain’s classification system is similar to Italy, labelling wines as [...]
The business of Champagne: Which Prestige Cuvées should be part of your investment portfolio? March 27, 2015 Champagne is famed for giving us the world’s finest sparkling wines. With around 15,000 growers and 290 Champagne Houses producing 300 million bottles a year, Champagne is big business and this illustrious wine is quickly consumed throughout the world. ‘Come quickly, I am tasting stars’ is the famed expression of a 17th century monk, named [...]
All about Bordeaux: Why Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Left Bank and the Right is perfect for Cabernet Franc March 27, 2015 Bordeaux is the predominant region in the world for fine wine investment, completely dominating all other regions and comprising anywhere from 60-85% of regional trade by value in fine wine trading. Located in the southwest region of France, Bordeaux has three main wine producing regions: the Left Bank, Entre-Deux-Mers, and the Right Bank. Wines from [...]
Italy’s Super Tuscans are now considered investment grade wines March 27, 2015 Italian winemaking dates back to the Etruscans and later the Oenotrians whose name derives from the Greek word for wine (oinos). Today, Italy boasts over 2,000 grape varieties, a wealth of regions, soil types, micro-climates and wine cultures. For centuries Italy’s wines were as divided as the country. Winemaking in Italy fell into the doldrums [...]
Storing, shipping and delivering your wine March 27, 2015 Physical Storage of Wine Holdings The UK is one of the largest hubs of fine wine in the world with an estimated £1.5 billion worth stored here in bonded warehouses. These are custom built warehouses that provide the perfect temperature, humidity and security allowing collectors to store wine ‘in bond’, meaning they do not need [...]
Theatre review: Rules for Living March 27, 2015 National Theatre | ★★★★☆ So this is it: the final curtain for Sir Nicholas Hytner, the revitalising creative director of the National Theatre. That he would bow out with Rules for Living, a new play from young writer Sam Holcroft and directed by stalwart Marianne Elliot, exemplifies the combination of steady-handedness and risk he has [...]
Art review: Anish Kapoor at the Lisson Gallery March 27, 2015 Lisson Gallery | Until 9 May This new solo show by one of Britain’s most famous sculptors marks his return to painted works. A triptych of silicon and resin pieces dominates one room; raised red and burgundy bringing to mind torn flesh. The works are in part a continuation of Kapoor’s long-term fascination with [...]
Film review: Blind is divisive but gripping March 27, 2015 Cert 18 | ★★★★☆ Films about the blind, like films about the deaf, are faced with a formal problem: how do you convey the subjective experience of blindness without showing the viewer a blank screen for two hours? Compellingly, the Sundance-winning Blind gets around the problem by focusing on the flights of imagination that can [...]