Cellar Stories

Few conversations strike as much fear as discussing wine. A drink that many consume nightly can still induce panic when someone at the table asks whether you think the wine is a little muted for this vintage. You have heard the terms before, but what do they really mean? Don’t worry we have you covered. Here are 10 typical wine terms and their meanings:1) OrganicDespite much misconception surrounding this little word, it simply refers to the farming that takes place in the vineyard and is classified as farming without the use of any synthetic chemicals.2) BiodynamicAlmost like the next step...

Bordeaux is undoubtedly one of the best known and celebrated wine regions in the world, with the top wines fetching astronomically high prices in today’s market. The devoted torch is passed from generation to generation of wine drinker and each new year brings much excitement and discussion as to whether it is going to be the next great vintage. The region has become pillared by its annual vintage reports and first growth Châteaux, but behind these lie a nuanced and often forgotten history whereby Bordeaux was not always king and indeed, Bordeaux as we know it did not even exist....

ABC. Just to clarify - we’re not going to reteach you the alphabet. But what we are going to do is attempt to unpick a topic that is at once deeply ingrained in our wine drinking culture and yet, at the same time, appears totally misunderstood. Perhaps the best place for us to start is at the beginning; what is Chardonnay? This myth-like creature is a white grape that hails from Burgundy. It is medium-bodied, has good acidity and despite what the haters may want to argue, is really quite neutral in flavour. It doesn’t sing and pop with aromatic...

The 75cl bottle really has become the ubiquitous size on wine lists and in shops around the world, and indeed was officialised throughout Europe in 1970 as the standard size for a bottle of wine. But how did we get to this? Some say that it is connected to the literal lung capacity of the glass blowers making these first bottles, whilst others argue that the 75cl bottle held enough wine for the average person to consume over supper. Maybe we will never really know the truth, but what we can tell you for sure, is that in a standard...