jamie goode's wine blog

My blog has moved home!

2010-02-15T09:06:00.002Z

A short while ago, Blogger, the medium by which this blog is currently published, announced that they'd no longer be supporting publishing by ftp. For the non-technical, let me explain. Currently, I use blogger to compose and organize blog posts, and then I publish them to my own web space, on my domain name, www.wineanorak.com. Having the blog...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

A lovely northern Rh�ne Syrah from Maxime Graillot

2010-02-14T09:20:00.000Z

This is a really lovely northern Rh�ne Syrah, made by Maxime Graillot, son of Alan (the most famous grower in this appellation of Crozes-Hermitage). It's quite an edgy, polarising sort of wine, though: with its high acidity and bold, striking flavours, some will fall in love while others will find it a bit too much. It's just my sort of wine. I'd...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Video: two top-notch New Zealand Syrahs

2010-02-13T07:56:00.002Z

Here I take a look at New Zealand Syrah, tasting two top-notch examples on camera. Will it be the next big thing from Kiwiland? Too soon to say, with less than 300 hectares of Syrah planted in the whole country. But I�m a big fan � I�m excited by the wines that I�ve tried so far.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Video: interviewed in New Zealand

2010-02-12T08:36:00.002Z

At the Pinot Noir 2010 symposium I was interviewed by Jamie Drummond of Good Food Revolution - you can view the interview here: Jamie Drummond on Food and Wine: Episode 12 - Jamie Goode from GoodFoodRevolution on Vimeo.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Sarah Ahmed's 50 Great Portuguese Wines

2010-02-11T16:51:00.002Z

Just on my way back from Sarah Ahmed's 50 Great Portuguese Wines tasting. Having done this job last year, I know how difficult it is to narrow down this selection to just 50: Portugal must be the most underrated wine-producing country on the planet. Sarah is pictured above, with one of her favourite whites. Sarah's selection was excellent. I...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

A lovely Kiwi Riesling from Neudorf

2010-02-10T23:15:00.002Z

New Zealand is, of course, famous for its Sauvignon Blanc, becoming famous for its Pinot Noir, and beginning to make a name for its Syrahs. But what of its Rieslings? I think they're a bit underrated. They are also quite hard to sell. But I've tried some great examples of late, in both the dry style, the just-off-dry style, and the lower alcohol...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Moving servers!

2010-02-10T10:36:00.005Z

Just a quick note to say that I'll be moving servers over the next few days. I've outgrown my previous hosting service. Too many readers; too much traffic. Not a bad problem to have, but it does mean that there will be a short period where the site is down. I apologise for this. It's called DNS server migration, and there's no way around it.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Films and books and stuff

2010-02-09T19:05:00.003Z

Just been on to amazon and ordered a book recommended to me by Ted Lemon, who was at Pinot Noir 2010. Ted's wines are fantastic, and so anything he wants to put on my reading list is fine by me. It's called 'Agroecology', by Miguel Altieri. Not cheap at �30, but I'm hoping it will be very good. On the flight on the way back from Auckland I caught...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

More New Zealand pictures

2010-02-08T06:11:00.002Z

Just a few more pictures from my recent trip. The glorious views over lake Wanaka from Rippon, Central Otago (above). This is an aerial view showing Kawarau (left) and Pisa Range (right, with its distinctive black poplar trees), in Central Otago's Pisa district. This is one of the black poplars at Pisa Range, this time viewed from the ground.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Does having a nice experience of a country bias writers, even subtly?

2010-02-08T05:43:00.002Z

Keith P posed an interesting question in response to one of my blog posts from New Zealand. To paraphrase: does having a nice experience when visiting a wine region of country introduce a degree of positive bias in subsequent reviews? Let's put this another way. Would it, in fact, be better for wine critics to have samples sent and taste the wines...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Leaving New Zealand

2010-02-06T07:34:00.002Z

So I'm on my way home. Two weeks on the road is probably enough: I'm missing home. Still, it has been a great trip. I'm pictured above flanked by Andrew and Katharine, with whom I have spent two very enjoyable days. I wish we lived nearer to them. I'm now sitting in the lounge at Auckland airport, sipping a very precise Man O'War Sauvignon Blanc...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

In Auckland

2010-02-06T02:52:00.003Z

My last couple of days in New Zealand are being spent with some friends in Auckland, The Hemingways. We knew them well in the UK, but a decade ago they moved out with their five children to live here. It has been great fun. Their kids are now, with the exception of one, teenagers and young adults, and there's a real positive vibe in the house....

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

2010-02-06T02:34:00.004Z

Wellington is an easy sort of city to hang around in for a few days. It�s big enough to have all you�d need, but compact enough to get around easily by foot. The waterfront makes it easy to navigate � as long as you have an idea where it is, you�d find it hard to get lost. I�ve enjoyed my short stay here a lot. Last night was the Pinot Noir 2010...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Pinot Noir 2010, day three

2010-02-03T22:38:00.002Z

Last day of Pinot Noir 2010. I'm feeling tired - you have to remember that this is not an academic symposium. It's largely about eating, drinking, meeting people, having fun and generally partying. I was out last night with a small group of winemakers and journalists for a fun party hosted in someone's home. We drank some beautiful wines and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Pinot Noir 2010, day two

2010-02-03T06:19:00.003Z

The theme today? Sustainability, and all that goes with it. I gave my talk, in a session that included Steve Smith, Doug Bell (Wholefoods), Andrew Jefford, Nick Mills and Max Allen. I thought it went OK, although I did have a little too much information for a 15 minute presentation, and to avoid over-running had to do some jettisoning of the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Pinot Noir 2010, day one

2010-02-02T10:05:00.004Z

So Pinot 2010 is now in full flow. The event opened by a welcome from New Zealand PM John Key (top). Pretty cool that the PM should open a wine conference - can't see it happening in the UK! He has a good vintage, too - 1961. Seems like a smart guy with a great common touch and his speech was perfectly judged. Today's proceedings went pretty...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Fun with seals, crayfish and paua

2010-02-01T20:48:00.002Z

Yesterday began with a bit of R&R - Tyson Stelzer, Joe Czerwinski, Oz Clarke and I had opted to go crayfish and paua (abalone) hunting on the rugged wairarapa coastline. So we set off at some unearthly hour and headed out for the sea. It was too rough to actually go in the water, but fortunately the boys had brought along some crayfish and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

NZ: back to Martinborough

2010-01-31T17:50:00.003Z

So a big group of us drove back from Napier to Martinborough yesterday. Lots of banter on the bus, which was fun. We had a big tasting arranged of 60 wines from the region, which most of us did blind, followed by a feed, and then off to various vineyards for some visiting in smaller groups. I went to Palliser with Oz Clarke, and then we went to...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

New Zealand, day 6: Syrah Symposium

2010-01-30T10:52:00.002Z

A bit of a change. After visiting beautiful vineyards, I've been stuck in a room all day. But productively. It has been the Syrah Symposium here in Hawkes Bay. A mixture of science, tasting and opinion. A tight schedule, running from 8 am until 6 pm, with four excellent tasting sessions blended in with the talks. The first, led by the excellent...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

New Zealand, day 5 - Martinborough/Wairarapa

2010-01-29T09:57:00.005Z

Four very good visits today. Pictured above, Neil McCallum of Dry River, whose wines are just incredible. I met with him - an engaging, interesting host, and Poppy and Shayne Hammond (below), winemaker and viticulturalist, respectively. The team here is doing a fantastic job. The viticulture at Dry River is immaculate, with a split canopy...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

NZ: from Central Otago to Martinborough

2010-01-28T18:46:00.003Z

Finished my Central Otago leg with two great appointments: Peregrine (top image) and Gibbston Valley. Peregrine's 2008 Pinots are brilliantly fresh and elegant, with lovely poise. Gibbston are making great wines across the board, and Chris Keys, the young winemaker here seems on top form. The 2009 Pinots will be something worth waiting for if the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

New Zealand, day 3 - Central Otago

2010-01-27T08:32:00.002Z

Another really good day today. Began with a helicopter flight over the region to get a good sense of where everything is, together with some other journalists. We landed at Carrick for a masterclass on the various varieties and subregions, as well as a vertical tasting led by Rudi Bauer. This was followed by lunch. It was a brilliantly informative...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

New Zealand, day 2 - Central Otago

2010-01-26T18:03:00.003Z

I'm sitting on a bench outside my room at the Carrick Lodge, a Motel in Cromwell in the heart of the Central Otago wine growing region. It looks set to be another beautiful day, which is great because I'll be meeting up with some other journos in a while for a helicopter ride over the region. I was on my own yesterday, with appointments at Felton...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Quick post from the road - day 2 NZ

2010-01-25T19:52:00.002Z

Just waiting for my pick up to visit Felton Road. Slept all through from 8pm to 7.30am, after drifting off to sleep watching the first of the 10 hour-long episodes of Mondovino uncut. Very entertaining, but I was horridly jetlagged. Yesterday evening I had one of the best burgers of my life at the famous Fergburger. Fergberger and fries is too...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

In Queenstown - a beautiful place

2010-01-25T02:57:00.003Z

Arrived rather jetlagged in Queenstown at noon today, but I was shaken from my stupor by the view as we walked down the steps from the plane. Just remarkable: the best quality light you can imagine, and some incredibly raw, vivid mountains surrounding the town. I spent a couple of hours wandering around town and taking in some of the views. It's...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]