Travels in Wine

California

Lodi AVA Overview

California

Beavers – nature's master engineers might offer some solutions for containing precious water supplies, but their presence isn't always welcomed by farmers

California

Gnarley Head Zinfandel

California

Napa Valley Sign

California

Napa Valley Wine Train routes

California

Napa Valley Wine Train

California

Napa Cabernet Masterclass

California

E. & J. Gallo – the largest family-run wine brand in the world

California

Budburst on an old zinfandel vine in Lodi (Delicato – Gnarley Head/Brazin)

California

Sonoma Temperature Range

California

E. and J. Gallo – the largest family-run wine brand in the world

California

Sonoma wine region, California - topographic diversity

California

Sonoma wine region, California - topographic diversity (3pm)

California

Sonoma wine region, California - topographic diversity (6pm)

California

Sonoma wine region, California - topographic diversity (9pm)

California

Sonoma wine region, California - topographic diversity (9am)

California

Sonoma Masterclass wines

California

Fog Management in McMurray Vineyard (Russian River, Sonoma)

Bordeaux

Fifth-growth Château Haut- Batailley where Jean-Charles Cazes has bought some of his neighbour's land

Bordeaux

The first taste is the sweetest! A line-up of Margaux at merchants Ulysse Cazabonne, Bordeaux.

Bordeaux

Advanced growth in Saint-Emilion.

Bordeaux

Not your usual attire for visiting Bordeaux châteaux!

Bordeaux

Saint-Emilion from the Pavie Macquin wine tasting room.

Bordeaux

Château Bouscaut in Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Wonderful wisteria at Saint-Emilon's Château Ausone.

Bordeaux

Nicolas Audebert being told to find something better to drink.

Bordeaux

Laurent Dufau of Calon Segur.

Bordeaux

Tim Sykes at Château Carteau Côtes Daugay, Saint-Emilion with Jacques Bertrand's daughters, Anne-Marie and Catherine.

Bordeaux

Tim Sykes blending The Society's Claret

Bordeaux

Tim Sykes blending The Society's Claret

Bordeaux

The impressive entrance to Château Pitray in Bordeaux

Bordeaux

100-year-old vines at Haut-Bailly

Bordeaux

Château Bouscaut in Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Tim Sykes and Véronique Barthe of Château Freynelle in the Entre-Deux-Mers

Bordeaux

Entrance to Haut-Bailly

Bordeaux

Maturation room in Bouscaut

Bordeaux

The Garonne River runs through the heart of Bordeaux

Beaujolais

Clos de la Roillete

Beaujolais

A pruner's dog surveys his kingdom

Beaujolais

A remarkable line-up at Beauregard

Beaujolais

'The leaf protects, but the wine preserves'

Beaujolais

Jean-Marc Burgaud's 2007 Côte du Py

Beaujolais

Jean-Marc Burgaud

Beaujolais

Sunshine in the vineyards

Beaujolais

Jean-Marc Burgaud, and his wines, in full flow

Beaujolais

The famous windmill which gives its name to the Moulin-à-Vent cru

Beaujolais

Jean-Paul Brun and a delicious line-up of 2017s and 2018s

Beaujolais

'Talking terroir in Beaujolais is not a conversation limited to the die-hard wine geek anymore.' Preparation is everything!

Beaujolais

A morning view with a cru!

Beaujolais

Tim being shown the hail netting being used by some of the region's growers

Bordeaux

Early-morning wake-up call - the mouth-puckering line up of young sauvignons!

Bordeaux

First evening tasting with van den Linden

Bordeaux

Jean-Marie and Gwen from the co-op with Tim in the lab-style blending room

Bordeaux

Tim and Maria Mercier from Sovex with the wines lined up behind

Bordeaux

Tim in the tasting room at Château Thieuley

Bordeaux

Tim catches up with Jean-Michel Baudet on the 2018 vintage with agent Alice Macleod-Dumas

Bordeaux

Tim discussing his views on the wines with the winemaker from Ad Francos and Christina from their agents

Bordeaux

Dinner at Le Chien de Pavlov

Bordeaux

Left to right: Fabrice and his brother Jean-Jacques Dubourdieu with our buyer Tim Sykes

Bordeaux

Just as big on the outside and more like an oil refinery than a winery. We estimated that our total stocks of all our wine at The Wine Society (and we have a lot) would fit into these tanks with one or two spare for good measure.

Bordeaux

Tartare of scallops which was sublime !

Bordeaux

The cockle risotto at Belle Campagne, which turned out to be made from pearl barley rather than rice, but which provided an interesting and different starter.

Bordeaux

Chateau de la Grave Bordeaux

Bordeaux

2018 Chateau Thieuley Blanc in its 'raw' state

Bordeaux

Home from home! The functional HQ of our next port of call just off the ring road

Bordeaux

Christmas dinner table at Ad Francos

Burgundy

The star of the show – my 'wow' moment. Sorry it's not such a 'wow' picture!

Burgundy

Montrachet in the rain – there's a beautiful vineyard out there somewhere!

Burgundy

Domaine Drouhin-Laroze – one of the prettiest cellars

Burgundy

Château de Meursault

Burgundy

Burgundy village in winter

Burgundy

Route des Grands Crus

Burgundy

Volnay in the background

Burgundy

Vineyard. Pommard, Cote de Beaune, d'Or, Burgundy, France

Burgundy

Vineyards around the pretty village of Gevrey-Chambertin – more Mondrian in style!

Burgundy

Château Meursault

Piedmont

The hill-top town of La Morra

Piedmont

Nadia Curto - Winemaker in Barolo, Italy

Piedmont

Brother and sister team, Marco and Paola at Ciabot Berton

Piedmont

View of Barolo from Ciabot Berton

Piedmont

After many years in the planning, Silvano Bolmida's new winery is well underway

Piedmont

No Travels in Wine report is complete without a picture of a cellar dog and they don't come much cuter than Silvano's!

Piedmont

Bricco Boschis vineyard

Piedmont

Alfio Cavallotto

Piedmont

Steep vineyards in Serralunga

Piedmont

Tajarin – the thin, rich pasta of Piedmont

Piedmont

Tajarin – the thin, rich pasta of Piedmont

Piedmont

Tajarin – the thin, rich pasta of Piedmont

Rhône

2018 vintage was like no other in the Rhône-back in June appearances are deceptive

Rhône

Bertrand Stehelin and the 2018 Gigondas harvest

Rhône

Cornas from the Tain Co-op bearing the name of its late general manager

Rhône

Hermitage la Chapelle Hermitage in the June heat

Rhône

Jean Louis Chave's herb garden from where biodynamic treatments are created

Rhône

Jérôme Quiot and his wife Geneviève

Rhône

Mildew affected vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Rhône

Perfect view spot - Tain l'Hermitage in June

Rhône

Saint Joseph in the heart of the appellation

Rhône

Saint Joseph vines above the town of Tournon

Rhône

The Ardèche - a fine gorge with excellent vineyards on the plateau

Rhône

Well known view of the chapel on the hill of Hermitage during the summer

Greece

Semeli Mantinia Nassiakos - A 2018 Wine Champion pictured in its natural habitat!

Greece

All systems go in Santorini, where everything is being rebuilt, repainted and cleaned, ahead of the holiday season starting.

Greece

An idyllic little chapel in Santorini, over the road from the villa where I stayed the night.

Greece

Despite the arid, sandy soils in this part of Crete, there is an abundance of herbs and flowers

Greece

Enjoying a glass of Hatzidakis Aidani in the villa where I was staying – a well-deserved treat upon finally arriving in Santorini

Greece

It's not always so glamorous being a wine buyer! Going from little airport to little airport, often without enough seats for the passengers, Freddy Bulmer does the gentlemanly thing and gives his seat up for his elders!

Greece

Nikos Karavitakis, the new generation at the Karavitakis winery and buyer Freddy Bulmer, looking at their exciting new vineyard site in Crete

Greece

Picture-postcard perfect, Freddy captures the sun setting over some of the smaller islands, from the coast of Santorini before heading to the mainland to join Sebastian Payne

Greece

Buyers Sebastian Payne MW and Freddy Bulmer visit Tetrámythos in the northern Peloponnese where Panayiotis Papagiannopoulos shows them one of his beautiful organic vineyards which is so full of life with a huge variety of herbs (which they even tasted!)

Greece

The line-up following a superb range tasting with Panayiotis at Tetrámythos. Freddy was amazed at the quality of the 2017 roditis natur made with very low SO2

Greece

An exciting new discovery from Tetramythos, a natural Roditis. Clean as a whistle.

Greece

Panayiotis Papagiannopoulos, the wonderful winemaker at Tetrámythos, with one of his clay amphorae. You cannot make wines using this ancient technique unless your winery is spotlessly clean

Greece

We went to see the ruins of Ancient Nemea for a dose of history. As a classics scholar Sebastian Payne MW knows his ancient Greece as well as his wines – Freddy looks suitably impressed!

Greece

The beautiful countryside view from the Semeli winery

Greece

The beautiful views from one of Apostolos' Rapsani vineyards – the wine from here is as good as its surroundings suggest it should be!

Greece

The vibrant, hectic and wonderful Apostolos Thymiopolos with Sebastian Payne MW

Greece

Delicious and exciting wines tasted at the Hatzidakis winery

Greece

The vibrant, hectic and wonderful Apostolos Thymiopolos with a big bottle of something special

Greece

When we visited Skouras, we then stayed the night in nearby Nafplion. With a couple of hours to spare before dinner, Freddy decided to climb the 1000 steps to the top of the fortress which overlooks the town.

Romania

The local tamâioasa româneasca (tammy-wasa romi neasca) grape makes both dry and sweet wines. A member of the muscat family, it is sometimes referred to as the frankincense grape because of its ethereal, heady aroma

Romania

On the way to Dragasani we stopped off at Maldaresti renowned for its cule or fortified 16th-century manor houses built in defence against the marauding Turks. Now open to visitors and even to hire out as holiday homes!

Romania

Our buyer Freddy Bulmer has car envy! A Romanian classic: Dacia cars are the most popular on the road but horse and cart still figure in the top 10!

Romania

Homebrew by the side of the road…tempting but our team pressed on to Dragasani!

Romania

Wonderfully green Romanian landscape – a nice break from our hot summer!

Romania

Homegrown grapes for breakfast – simple and delicious

Romania

Baroness Ileana Kripp-Costinescu and Jakob Kripp

Romania

Dumitru Nedelut tended the Stirbey vines, keeping them in good condition during the communist period and remains the domaine's agronomist to this day

Romania

Jakob walking through the vineyards between rain showers

Romania

Dumitru took great delight in showing us around his well-tended vineyards. Left to right: Dumitru Nedelut, agronomist, Mahesh Bharwaney, Richard Fox, UK agent for Prince Stirbey and Wine Society buyer, Freddy Bulmer

Romania

Fetita the vineyard dog at Prince Stirbey who has years of professionally barking at grapes behind her!

Romania

Anton the vineyard donkey at Prince Stirbey

Romania

Prince Stirbey's German winemaker Oliver Bauer who also fell in love with Romania with buyer Freddy Bulmer

Romania

As well as making the Prince Stirbey wines, winemaker Oliver Bauer crafts his own from his own vineyards where he can experiment to his heart's content!

Romania

We managed to do a bit of sight-seeing on this trip and were taken to some beautiful places like the historic Dintr-un Lemn monastery

Romania

Mahesh admires the UNESCO World Heritage Horezu monastery

Romania

Passing the time peacefully inside the cloisters of the Horezu monastery

Romania

Dintr-un Lemn means 'one wood' and this was the original chapel which legend has it was constructed from one tree

Alsace

A tower or fortress tops just about every pinnacle along the crest of the Vosges foothills, reminding you of the area's troubled past

Alsace

Riquewihr's pretty coloured buildings

Alsace

On the blackboard in a restaurant in Riquewihr – succinctly put Christian! 'A little glass of Alsace is like a summer dress, a flower in springtime, a ray of sunshine come to brighten up your life'

Alsace

Alsace is one of France's most northerly wine regions, winemakers here aim for ethereal beauty rather than sheer power in their wines

Alsace

Early for our first appointment at Schlumberger, is this a first?!

Alsace

Smiley Séverine Schlumberger with Jo Locke MW

Alsace

Pretty little Bergholtz, just 3km south of Guebwiller

Alsace

Joanna Locke MW with Jean-Pierre Dirler

Alsace

View of the Clos St Landelin from the Muré tasting room

Alsace

Clos St Landelin Pinot Noir 2016 more profound just on the nose alone!

Alsace

Beautiful labels hand painted by the cousin of Jean's grandfather

Alsace

Beautiful painting at Albert Boxler by Masse

Alsace

The impressive Germanic-looking railway station

Hungary

A beautiful spot to drop anchor...

Hungary

Freddy with Lilla O'Connor, the person behind Wines of Hungary in the UK and the trip organiser

Hungary

Hobbits would be quite at home making wine in Tokaj!

Hungary

Freddy and Furmint, the vineyard dog

Hungary

Veronika Gál joined by her brother Titi (left) and Károly Adamovich of Ostoros winery (right)

Hungary

A hot day for working the vienayards of Somló

Hungary

Budapest has the most wonderful architecture, all so clean and beautifully preserved.

Hungary

The beautiful view from the Sik-hegy vineyard in Eger

South Africa

Mont Blois in Robertson is now being run by a beautiful young husband-and-wife team, Ernst and Nina-Mari Bruwer, who have brought a new energy (in more ways than one) to this large sixth-generation family estate

South Africa

Roelf du Preez and favoured hound at Bon Cap, Robertson. Michelle and Roelf who have bounced back from the challenges that led them to sell a chunk of the farm and are now arable farming and running a successful wedding and events venue. One day they hope to make wine again!

South Africa

Wildeberg cellar above Franschhoek

South Africa

The spectacular backdrop to our tasting at Walker Bay Vineyards

South Africa

After 18 years at Tokara, Miles Mossop is going it alone. He has taken on some consultancy work but his main focus now is on his own label. He was sporting a new look (all to do with a friend's birthday party, apparently) but I am happy to report there was no concurrent change in the wines!

South Africa

Pella Wines was totally new to me, though its home in the Stellenboschkloof means it is not far from our old friends at De Morgenzon and Jordan. The view from their property was stunning

South Africa

Bruwer Raats is a charming man, another gentle giant, and though he certainly has a big personality he was super modest (and clearly super chuffed) about his Platter's Winery of the Year award this year

South Africa

How well do South African wines age? Very well! That's what I discovered when I returned to the Cape and attended some incredible tastings. Greg Sherwood MW at The Whole Bunch Heritage tasting

South Africa

At Delheim where my delicious homemade Bobotie (a national dish of South Africa: a delicious mix of curried meat and fruit with a creamy golden topping, not dissimilar to moussaka) at their lovely 'cottage' restaurant was graced with a gorgeous Delheim Grand Reserve 1987, a lovely elegant wine and also still very much alive

South Africa

Tasting through the whole series of Liberator wines in Cape Town

South Africa

Tokara new winemaker Stuart Botha, formerly of Eagles' Nest (left) with GM Karl Lambour

South Africa

L'Avenir, now under new ownership, much work has been done in the vineyards (which looked simply stunning), cellar and visitor facilities. 'Back to being Proudly South African' said cellarmaster Dirk Coetzee

South Africa

An art student hard at work at Spier where there is an art gallery and workshop, showcasing just one of the community projects that are behind so much of what goes on here, under the appropriately coined 'Growing for Good' initiative. Many members have recommended a visit here and I was pleased to be able to make it at last

South Africa

Another of the social initiatives at Spier: innovative greenhouse made from recycled plastic bottles at Spier

South Africa

The former Zoo Biscuits, now Zoo Cru, an informal group of like-minded individuals including New Wave luminaries such as Chris Alheit, John Seccombe and Duncan Savage, had a 1970s theme on their stand at the Cape Wine Show

South Africa

Possible future Tasting Room at Mont Blois in Robertson

South Africa

Lukas van Loggerenberg - barrel logistics in Lukas shed

South Africa

Dam and Tasting room at Wildeberg

South Africa

Tasting at Walker Bay Vineyards with what must be one of the most spectacular backdrops

South Africa

At Delheim I had a fantastic homemade Bobotie (a national dish of South Africa: a delicious mix of curried meat and fruit with a creamy golden topping, not dissimilar to moussaka) at their lovely 'cottage' restaurant

Austria

Freddy meets Michael Moosbrugger

Austria

Peter Rethaller shows us the new Society Grüner

Austria

The beautiful view from a hilltop vineyard by the Danube

Austria

Christina and Rainer Wess at their Kamptal winery

Austria

Freddy absolutely loving riesling!

Austria

A closer look at the unique soils of the Kamptal region

Austria

Freddy with Gerhard Pittnauer at his uber-cool winery

Austria

Riesling and grüner seeing some oak barrel ageing for added complexity

Sherry

A welcome bit of shade at Osborne's historic bodega in El Puerto de Santa María

Sherry

An exciting new Solera of our very own to get even greater consistency between bottlings of our Exhibition Olorosos

Sherry

The layer of yeast (flor) which grows on the top of fino sherry is even thicker in the coastal town of Sanlúcar, giving an extra tang to the finos here which are known as manzanilla

Sherry

Sánchez Romate supplies us with our Society and Exhibition sherries and has impressive stocks in their very traditional cellars

Sherry

Where the workers eat – backstreet Jerez with Peter Dauthieu

Sherry

Our buyer Tim Sykes enjoying tapas in the cellars at Pedro Romero

Sherry

Sherry barrels at Sanchez R bodega

Sherry

The affable and very able Gerardo del Pino now at the helm of this family-owned almacenista

Sherry

The beautiful and historic cellars of Barbadillo which enjoys an elevated position in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and makes some stunning manzanillas

Rhône

Oeufs brouillés aux truffes noires – a favourite dish of Marcel's at La Beaugravière, a restaurant little changed since Marcel first visited in his early days as a buyer of Rhône wines for The Wine Society

Rhône

There was a tiny crop of grapes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 2017 as throughout much of the Rhône, drought becoming a regular feature of recent vintages

Rhône

The legendary Paul Bocuse, a three-Michelin-starred chef from Lyon who passed away at the venerable age of 91. He believed in fresh ingredients of impeccable quality and a certain simplicity in style. His legacy lives on in so many great eating places. (Credit: Thierry Ehrmann (license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) - some adapations have been made to the original image)

Rhône

Marcel recommends eating at Mangevins in Tain l'Hermitage, tucked away in a side street, close by the famous pedestrian suspension bridge

Rhône

Bastia, Corsica with forest fires raging in the background. Provence didn't escape the fires either with several hundred acres of woodland consumed. Happily no people or vines were hurt

Rhône

Olive groves basking in the heat in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Rhône

Give me a drink! Parched vines in Châteauneuf –du-Pape. Irrigation is in effect legal now in France yet only 10% of vineyards are watered, the issue being mainly one of cost

Rhône

Healthy grenache grapes – in 2017 bunches were looking less abundant but are full of sweetness and, more surprisingly, have good acidity too

Argentina

Alejandro Sejanovich and Jeff Mausbach make small quantities of the exceptional Zaha & Teho wines from old vines planted in Paraje Altamira

Argentina

Mendel's Roberto de la Mota, who makes an extraordinary old-vine semillon in the Paraje Altamira subregion

Argentina

Argentina's most southerly vineyard: Weinert's vines in Chubut, Patagonia

Argentina

Reception is good: making a call in Paraje Altamira

Argentina

Harvesting in the high-altitude Salta region in the north

Argentina

Zuccardi's Finca Los Membrillos in La Consulta with the Andes close by in the background

Argentina

A wine map of Argentina. Used with the kind permission of Sebastián Zuccardi

Argentina

Susana Balbo's La Delfina is a lovely example of the floral, violent-scented style of Paraje Altamira malbec