Author Archives | Paul Howard
Paul Howard is a wine journalist and educator who runs the site Wine Alchemy. He is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers, the Association of Wine Educators and the FIJEV (international federation of wines and spirits journalists and vintners). He lives in the United Kingdom.
An Interview With James Milton
Some moons ago I was looking forward to meeting James and Annie Millton at their winery in Gisborne but was thwarted by storms and then a huge landslide that blocked all access. On returning to the UK I exchanged emails with James about organics and biodynamics. With apologies in advance for any misrepresentation, here is [...]
Continue reading...Pinot Noir, James Millton, Clos de Ste. Anne, Naboth’s Vineyard, Manutuke, Gisborne, New Zealand. 2006. 13%, Biodynamic
January 3, 2010
James and Annie Millton’s established their vineyards in 1984 and make a delicious range of hand-crafted fine wines. Pioneers, they’ve been biodynamic from the outset, long before many more famous estates around the world converted to the creed. Their estate is at Manutuke, just outside Gisborne in New Zealand, in North Island’s Poverty Bay, the [...]
Continue reading...Chateau Musar White 2001, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
November 30, 2009
Up in the Lebanese Bekaa valley at around 1,000 metres is an extraordinary property whose wines have become virtually synonymous with Lebanon. Serge Hochar has continued to make French-influenced wines here in spite of the various conflicts that have raged and blighted this beautiful but unstable region. He seeks to make only what nature will [...]
Continue reading...Domaine Belluard, AC Vin de Savoie, “le Feu, terroir de Montblanc”, Ayze, Savoie, France. 2006
October 13, 2009
Dominique and Patrick Belluard own this biodynamic estate of just 13 ha at Ayze, in the heart of the Haut Savoie valley of l’Arve. They are the third generation of the family to run it since it was created in 1947. They took charge in 1988 and converted to biodynamics in 2001. The domaine is located [...]
Continue reading...Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion (6th Edition, 2009)
August 28, 2009
The first edition of this book ignited this writer’s fledgling interest in all things vinous some twenty-five years ago. It was the first wine book I ever bought, almost by accident. I was initially attracted to it because of the superb illustrations by Paul Hogarth rather than by the words; they added to my treasured [...]
Continue reading...Vina Simčič, Teodor Belo Reserve white, Kakovostno Vino ZGP, Goriška Brda, Slovenia. 2004. 13.5%
August 28, 2009
Slovenia is a middle-European country that was once part of the former Yugoslavia, whose western Goriška province borders the Friuli region of NE Italy. The border between them runs through a small wine area with a violent history, known to Italians as the Collio and Brda to the Slovenes. Once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this [...]
Continue reading...Caiarossa, Azienda Vitivinicola Caiarossa, Toscana IGT, 2005
July 15, 2009
The Val di Cecina is a picturesque and unspoilt region of rolling hills toward the coast of Tuscany just north of the Bolgheri wine region, the new frontier for Tuscan wines over the past couple of decades. It is also known as Il Giardino (the Garden), thick with oak and cork trees. The close proximity to [...]
Continue reading...Biodynamic Alsace: JosMeyer et Fils, Wintzenheim, France
May 26, 2009
JosMeyer is easily found in Wintzenheim, it’s on the main street and approached via a lovely cobbled courtyard that features all the usual hallmarks of Alsace. There are half-timbered buildings featuring ancient oak beams, window boxes full of Pelargonium and red Roses climbing around doorways. Birdsong surrounds us and Bees buzz. Looking up, the sky [...]
Continue reading...Weingut Tesch, Nahe, Germany
March 8, 2009
Dr. Martin Tesch runs Weingut Tesch these days. It has been family-owned and run since 1723 and the estate is a member of the prestigious VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikats – und Qualitätsweingüter), a century-old association of some 200 German wineries dedicated to excellence. In his mid-thirties, Tesch is a microbiologist by training but a winegrower by [...]
Continue reading...Right Bank Bordeaux 2004 – wines by Stéphane Derenoncourt
January 6, 2009
Stéphane Derenoncourt is one of the world's foremost winemaking consultants, with wineries clamouring for his services. Right Bank Bordeaux is where he started out and established his reputation. While much has been written about him, here is a short reprise.
Continue reading...
January 4, 2010
Features