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Yearly Archives: 2024

Perfect Pairing: Kekada Masala (Masala crab)

In my new book Romy Gill’s India, I invite you to journey with me back to my roots, travelling through my ancestral kitchens to discover the true essence of home-cooked Indian cuisine. Growing up as the daughter of Punjabis in West Bengal, I was immersed in two vibrant cultures that celebrate food in unique and meaningful ways. India’s diverse cultures …

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As War in the Middle East Expands, Winemakers Persevere

The 2024 harvest at Israel’s Daltôn Winery was punctuated by nonstop rocket and drone attacks launched from just across the border in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon. As tractors rolled through the vineyards at night, collecting the last of the Cabernet grapes, the sky was lit up by the glow of exploding rockets and the resulting wildfires that have scorched parts of …

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DWWA Shopper’s Guide: Award-winning wines from Marks & Spencer

With the appointment of new head of BWS Caroline Thompson-Hill as well as new buyers Giota Polizoudi and Harriet Coates, Marks & Spencer continues to build on its the successes of the past few years with a host of medal winners at this years’ Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Alongside the introduction of the Classics range in 2020, the supermarket has …

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France slashes wine production estimate following poor weather

Vineyard in Burgundy. Famous regions such as Burgundy and Champagne have projected one of the smallest wine crops in recent years. The Burgundy and Beaujolais harvests are both expected to fall by 35% year-on-year, while the Champagne crop will be down by around 33% compared to 2023. Last month, the agriculture ministry’s Agreste statistics projected a total harvest of 39.3 million hectolitres …

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Uncovering the treasures of the Balkans

View of Ada Bridge in Belgrade, Serbia. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur, culture vulture, archaeology aficionado, history buff, culinary explorer or nature lover, a journey through the Balkans brings feelings akin to those of a child in a candy store. You’ll find yourself delightfully overwhelmed, unsure of where to start or which of the many flavours to taste first. Hidden …

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First taste: Rare Champagne surprises with 2012 vintage release

Rare Champagne has surprised followers by releasing a 2012 vintage after the lauded 2013, which was awarded a Platinum medal at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards. Scroll down to see the Rare Champagne 2012 tasting note and… Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/premium/first-taste-rare-champagne-surprises-with-2012-vintage-release-540290/

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Decanter’s Dream Destination: Hostal de La Gavina, Costa Brava, Spain

Perched on the Mediterranean coast in northern Spain, Hostal de La Gavina transports guests back to the glamorous heyday of the Costa Brava. Opened as a family-run ‘hostal’ with 11 rooms in 1932, it was a Hollywood hideaway in the 1950s and even became a film set for Liam Neeson’s 1930s detective film Marlowe. Black-and-white photographs of famous former guests …

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Torrid times for winemakers in the Middle East

Damage caused at Rayak Winery and Distillery. Elias Maalouf was squishing grapes at his Rayak Winery and Distillery, a smaller vineyard with 12 hectares of cultivated land in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, on 23 September, when a bomb flew out of the sky and landed in front of his building. The blast blew out the roof of his laboratory and shattered …

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Gehricke Wines

sarahstierch has added a photo to the pool: Gehricke Wines, Sonoma, California www.gehrickewines.com/ Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahvain/54051567538/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Slush machine

sarahstierch has added a photo to the pool: Gehricke Wines, Sonoma, California www.gehrickewines.com/ Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahvain/54051318826/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Pnonoir

sarahstierch has added a photo to the pool: 2024 Porsches on the Plaza Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahvain/54048708901/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Wine time

sarahstierch has added a photo to the pool: Parkside Wine Bar, Sonoma, California Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahvain/54048999110/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Vineyard

Hadi Hormozi has added a photo to the pool: Vineyard, Basque Country – Spain Talai Berri Txakoli Winery, Zarautz – Spain Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/187493411@N03/54027183533/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Steep | The Nebbiolo (locally: Chiavennasca) vineyards of th…

The Nebbiolo (locally: Chiavennasca) vineyards of the ArPePe winery in Valtellina DOCG Superiore, subzone Grumello. Sondrio, Lombardy, Italy.   The vineyards are so steep that the terraces have a single row of vines. The harvested grapes descend to the winery in buckets on motorised cables. The buckets also transport tools, etc., up to the terraces. Done Source : https://www.flickr.com/photos/winealchemy1/1780611201/in/pool-17918700@N00

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Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato: Showcasing Piedmont’s brightest stars

The diversity of Piedmont’s terroirs gives its DOCGs and DOCs their famed characters. Piedmont, one of Italy’s premier and most distinctive wine regions, is blessed with an embarrassment of riches. Four DOCGs and 10 DOCs, many of them famed worldwide, are overseen by the Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato, established in 1946. These highly individual wines, produced from …

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Walls: Exploring Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet

The sandy soils of Sablet. Imagine you’re an actor in a film with a large ensemble of other highly competent artists. None of you are household names. But the lead role has just been cast – and it’s gone to Arnold Schwarzenegger. On the one hand, it’s good to have a superstar to draw attention to the movie. But on …

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The Duckhorn Portfolio agrees $1.95bn sale

Duckhorn Vineyards. Duckhorn stockholders will receive $11.10 per share from the all-cash transaction, which is expected to complete ‘this winter’. Adam Waglay, co-founder of Butterfly Equity, said: ‘This is an incredible opportunity, and we look forward to bringing our specialised expertise and deep food and beverage network to bear to help amplify and accelerate the company’s mission to have their …

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Ovid: Planning for another 25 years

Napa Valley’s Ovid earned perfect, 100-point scores from Decanter for its 2013 and 2021 Cabernet Sauvignons. Although both wines come from Ovid’s six hectares of vines atop Pritchard Hill, overlooking the Oakville AVA, they are separated not only by eight vintages but also by differences in climate, vine age and myriad other micro-transformations of the site. Continuity and change Winemaker …

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Paso Robles looks to Bordeaux for sustainable insights

Château Palmer director Thomas Duroux. Delegates from the Paso Robles CAB Collective (PRCC) recently visited Bordeaux. They met with sustainability leaders to address challenges posed by climate change in cultivating Bordeaux varieties and to learn best practices from the historic French region. ‘With the changing climate in the world, it’s essential to share skills,’ said Marielle Cazaux, general manager and …

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