Our third morning in Portugal’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Douro Valley wine region began with the now mandatory drive through magnificent countryside, our small bus skirting the edge of the misty valley before climbing up to Favaios, on a plateau which at 600 metres is the Douro’s highest point. Favaios is home to Quinta da Avessada, … Read more
So we’re in the Douro Valley? I’m not sure if it was the three days of intense activity at Wine Pleasures’ International Wine Tourism Conference in Porto, Portugal – watching presentations, live-tweeting, blogging, networking, lunching, drinking and dining, and, on the last day, giving a presentation on Grantourismo. Or whether it was the twelve months of … Read more
Ask a wine expert in Buenos Aires who the best person is to talk to about Argentine wine and they’ll probably recommend an Englishman! We generally seek out locals when we want to learn something that is inherently ‘local’ in a place, but in Buenos Aires one name kept popping up, that of wine consultant, … Read more
The stunning sandy white beaches of southwest Sardinia are where most visitors to the area spend their days, but rain during our stay forced us to seek alternative things to do – like wine tasting Sardinian-style at Cantina di Santadi! Days of rain forced us to stay indoors during our stay at Teulada, so we … Read more
Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, is Spain’s bubbly of choice. It is to the Spanish what Champagne is to the French or spumante or prosecco is to the Italians. Go out to restaurants and bars in Barcelona and you’re more likely to see locals drinking Cava than anything else. And you can’t blame them. Cava … Read more