Subject to ratification by the senate, on Friday 6th March the French government gave a reprieve to wine tastings and wine festivals (see my previous post) in their proposed new health laws concerning alcohol sold through ‘Open Bars’. (The term is used in France to denote – usually – student bars where a fixed payment… View more
Just over a year ago I wrote here about the stupidity of the French lawmakers who had decreed that certain articles about wine had to carry a health warning just like advertising does in France. Discussions continued all last year about the subject of wine sales on the internet being technically illegal in France –… View more
In case you want to read more about the creation and background to my site Wine Travel Guides you might enjoy reading the interview with me on the travel news and information website Wandering Educators. I love the look of this site and it has very spirited and energetic owners, so I’m proud to become… View more
For those who believe that a European ski trip should be the last ‘luxury’ to be dropped in these times of the strong euro, then this one is for you … well at least for those who believe in lunch on the piste. This is, in part, a completely shameless plug for the French Alpine… View more
As Christmas and the end of the year approaches, instead of writing about yet another wonderful restaurant meal or wine tour that I’ve been privileged to enjoy during the year, I’m offering you a chance to participate in Menu for Hope. What is Menu for Hope?Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising campaign hosted by… View more
I’ve just tweeted this, so I should post it here too – do follow my tweets, they are lots of fun! Special Xmas Offer tweeters & bloggers: up to 20% off subscriptions using code D1WL08 – also valid for gifts. Pass it on. Just working on all the updates to the 46 French micro-region guides… View more
High time I paused for a while to consider the blues. Only just discovered this classic. It beats me how I can have spent all these 30 years interested in wine and the blues and still missed it: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnU5dx1Es7Y&hl=en&fs=1] So how did I find Sticks McGee sings Drinkin’ Wine Spo – Dee – O –… View more
French wine lovers buy their wines in a different way to British wine lovers and probably Americans too. For a start, with a vastly improved motorway network in France in less than four hours Parisians can reach Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Bordeaux or the Loire Valley, so it’s hardly surprising that they travel to wine regions… View more
From Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th October at the Wine Show in London a little company named JuraWine will be showing a range of wines from one of my favourite Jura producers, Stéphane Tissot (catch phrase: “la vie est belle” – life is beautiful). The range will include a fine Arbois Vin Jaune 1999, that… View more
For this coming week only, Selfridges’ up-market and comfortable Wonder Bar in Oxford Street, London is offering a great deal with 25ml tastes of a range of 52 Decanter Trophy winning wines. At the launch I enjoyed sips of a Castillo de Molina Sauvignon from Elqui, Chile; Wild Earth Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New… View more
