Hugo's Reserve

Harringay Dine Wine Me

Hugo — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:57:27 +0000

Recently at a friends’ house we had an excellent supper, with lovely food accompanied by excellent wine, great company and lots of mirth. When we offered to have the same eight people to our place for a repeat performance, someone … Continue reading →

Upcoming Cafe Moka Wine Nights

Hugo — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:50:57 +0000

The first Café Moka Wine Night was a great success. Before the evening started I didn’t really know how much tapas Kevin (owner/chef of Moka) would supply with the wines, but in fact the food was not only delicious but there was … Continue reading →

First Café Moka Wine Night – 26th April

Hugo — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:25:34 +0000

Next week marks the start of a new and exciting monthly wine and food evening - Café Moka Wine Nights. For those of you who don’t know, Café Moka is run by the talented and affable chef Kevin Vanthem, who has … Continue reading →

Lovely and Long-Lived Bourgueil

Hugo — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:08:21 +0000

Recently I’ve rediscovered my love for the fine red wines of the Central Loire, which are made from pure Cabernet Franc. The best two appellations for red wines in the region are Chinon and Bourgueil, which face each other across the … Continue reading →

Camerano Grappa di Barolo

Hugo — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:43:45 +0000

We don’t get through many spirits at our house. The odd single malt whisky or fine bourbon, the occasional Cognac or Armagnac, or maybe even a nip of well aged Calvados. But just a tiny tipple once a month or … Continue reading →

A Call for Carignan

Hugo — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:07:27 +0000

Last week I was at an excellent event promoting the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon in Southern France. The zone seems permanently poised to be “the next classic region” to quote their official marketing, and indeed it is an extremely exciting wine … Continue reading →

Domaine Visit – Pascal Bouchard

Hugo — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:10:13 +0000

Last month I was in Chablis with the AWE (Association of Wine Educators), where we made several excellent producer visits. For me the highlight these was to Domaine Pascal Bouchard, where we met Pascal’s son Romain, who has set up two … Continue reading →

Award Winners from the 26th Concours des Vins de Chablis

Hugo — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:33:41 +0000

As I wrote a couple of days ago, I was recently touring Chablis with the AWE (the Association of Wine Eductators), which I’m very happy to be a member of. Whilst on the tour we visited some excellent producers and … Continue reading →

Touring Chablis

Hugo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:11:57 +0000

Following an excellent couple of days in Champagne last week, I drove on to Chablis, for an AWE (Association of Wine Educators) tour of the region. It was the perfect follow-on from Champagne; they have many soil similarities (the classic … Continue reading →

In Champagne Part 2 – the Côte des Blancs

Hugo — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:29:18 +0000

I’m currently having a quick trip round Champagne in search of good value Grower Champagne. The region is split into four principle areas and with only two half days at my disposal I focussed on the two most classic of … Continue reading →