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Wine trade still full of cheer
10:33am Wednesday 31st December 2008
SARAH McCLEERY looks back at a fun year in the wine trade
Comments (0)The Oxford Times Wine Club tasting
10:07am Wednesday 24th December 2008
The annual Oxford Times Wine Club Christmas tasting was a great success and I’m happy to report that the wines were well-received. In truth, we had a slightly hectic set-up with our valiant driver, John, getting stuck in some pretty horrendous ring-road traffic on the way to Osney Mead, meaning that he and the wines only arrived about 15 minutes before kick-off.
Christmas wine quiz
9:00am Thursday 18th December 2008
The holiday season is upon us and the kids are home for the holidays, the in-laws have descended and the mince pies have burnt — again!
The small pleasures make Christmas
4:07pm Wednesday 10th December 2008
We drew straws this week for who was driving where and when over Christmas and, as it turns out, I am the girl with the keys on the 25th. So, it’s sparkling water and grape juice for me.
Life is too short for boring wine
9:25am Thursday 4th December 2008
Just the other week I drove to Stroud to help a fellow wine-writer taste her way though dozens of the UK’s top-selling wine brands.
Early taste of Christmas wine
8:34am Friday 28th November 2008
This week is The Oxford Times Wine Club Christmas Tasting and, with just four weeks to go until Christmas Day, it is an excellent opportunity to sample a specially-selected range of wines for the festive season.
Rioja equals good value and good quality
11:07am Thursday 20th November 2008
They say that it’s often the horses that are the trickiest to train that turn out to be the best. I’m hoping that this turns out to be true given the rollercoaster ride I’m on with my young pony. Suffice to say that I’m keeping spirits high with a ready supply of arnica tablets and the odd glass of wine.
Online guide to Aussie wine
9:19am Thursday 13th November 2008
Being someone who works from home I’d have to admit that my tendency to be easily-distracted is not always conducive to being productive.
Game for some wine
3:16pm Thursday 6th November 2008
In these challenging times I’m all for a bit of bartering. In the last few weeks I have been paid in eggs for lifts to the railway station and received horse care in return for grooming services.
Follow your nose when choosing wine
3:15pm Thursday 23rd October 2008
I am very fond of my beautician; she is an enthusiastic foodie with the common sense not to ask banal questions about my long-forgotten holiday.
Enjoy the autumn wine
9:09am Friday 17th October 2008
I see that my local supermarket has moved swiftly from summer to Christmas. Harvest festival and Halloween have been swept aside in the hurry to squeeze mince pies, tinsel and Christmas cards on to the shelves. It’s appalling.
What makes a brilliant wine?
1:19pm Friday 3rd October 2008
My very first job after university was at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London where I spent a great deal of time debating what it was that separated the good performers from the brilliant.
Without fizz it's not the same
6:10am Friday 26th September 2008
The recently aired What’s in Your Wine as part of Channel 4’s Dispatches series was one of the most frustrating pieces of television I have watched for some time. The central theme was that a list of ingredients should appear on every wine bottle and I can’t disagree with the benefits for many consumers in doing so.
Domains in Spain
4:09pm Friday 19th September 2008
Sarah McCleery helps us to unravel a wine word puzzle
A quick guide to wine terms
11:49am Friday 12th September 2008
In the last two weeks I have written the descriptions for more than 400 different wines. My brain aches. I have run out of adjectives and I look about as fresh as my rather dog-eared thesaurus.
Not too late to get out rosé
3:44pm Thursday 4th September 2008
Somebody once told me that the reason rosé wines were selling so well was all down to the increasingly hotter summers we were experiencing. Given the totally rotten weather we have had to endure this last few weeks, you would think sales of the pink stuff would be plummeting.
Wine by the half — and the 20
2:50pm Thursday 28th August 2008
One of the most memorable things I ever saw on a visit to a historic building was the detail in the wine cellar of Queen Mary's magnificent dolls' house at Windsor Castle. I was particularly impressed (and astonished) to read that the tiny bottles - slighter than the nail of my smallest finger - actually contained real wine.
Environmentally friendly wines
11:21am Thursday 21st August 2008
As someone who has spent seven years or so buying and selling organically-certified wine, I thought I was pretty well up to speed on all things environmental when it came to the world of wine. That was until I came across the world's first LEAF marque wines.
Catching up on some wine news
2:52pm Thursday 14th August 2008
I don't like August. It's a flat month in the wine world. Everyone's on holiday and my daily flood of emails from wine-maker friends and colleagues completely dries up.
An area of lovely, charming wines
6:21am Friday 8th August 2008
If I could have my first ever trip to Burgundy again, I wouldn't head for the famed vineyards of the Côtes de Nuits or the Côtes de Beaune, instead I would drive south and begin in the Mâconnais.
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