The Winery Big Fish of Unknow region

Think of Colombia, think of balmy evenings dancing to salsa, fuelled by shots of aguardiente and arepas. But there’s plenty more than the anise-based spirit and cornmeal cakes to sample in the South American country. Chefs have stepped up their game to put gastronomy on the map, with sommeliers and bartenders following suit. Not just appreciating local ingredients and distilling spirits, they also seek out wines from around the world to accompany fine-dining experiences. Their endeavours have pa ...

According to lifestyle and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin, you ‘bring your own weather to a picnic’. Ms Rubin, I’d suggest, has never shivered under a tree watching raindrops turn her fish-paste sandwich to mush because the weather forecast was wrong. There are, it’s safe to say, picnics and Picnics. It’s a term that takes in everything from a rubber baguette in a French ‘Aire’ off the Autoroute du Soleil to a four-course spread while listening to opera at Glyndebourne. What’s definitely true is ...

‘When I started producing wine, the wineries were all in a very bad condition,’ said Askaneli Brothers president Gocha Chkhaidze, recalling the poor state of the Georgian wine industry shortly after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. ‘There was inadequate sanitation, a lack of know-how and old-fashioned bottling lines. People were unable to make wine sustainably, vineyards were not sufficiently cared for, agronomists were unskilled and used to harvest the maximu ...