Wines made from Primitivo grapes

I’d like to say we took advantage of the lockdown and its related commotion to do a stock-take, explore new avenues, turn over intriguing stones, widen and deepen our drinking, taking careful notes as we went. Sadly, no. I won’t say we got stuck in a rut, but we did tend to stick with comfort wines – and “comfort”, in our case, means familiar. Regular readers of this quarterly column can probably guess the labels on the resulting empties. We have a wider range of comfort foods, I’m afraid, than ...

For the UK’s third edition of the Star Wine List of the Year Awards, held in partnership with trade title The Buyer, a jury of top sommeliers was brought together to judge over 100 wine lists from restaurants and bars across the UK. Spanning 12 categories, the winning establishments [see below] were picked by consultant sommelier and wine director at Ten Trinity Square Jan Konetzki, Piotr Petras MS, Ronan Sayburn MS and Ruth Spivey, wine consultant and Star Wine List’s UK Ambassador. ...

I clearly remember the summer of 2014 in the Rhône. We were there on holiday, staying not far from the hill of Hermitage. It rained incessantly, I got tonsillitis and we had to rush our two-year-old son to hospital with a severed thumb. It wasn’t the best holiday we’ve ever had. That wet summer of 2014 also made an indelible impression on the wines. The 2013 vintage wasn’t without its challenges either – it was certainly unlucky for some. Positioned between the excellent 2012 and 2015, the 2013s ...