Critics reviews
Margaret Rand, Decanter, Sept 2015
Natasha Hughes MW, natashahughes.com ClerkenwellboyEC1 (top food commentator) in Observer Food Monthly: Exploring & Tasting Wine top of the pile of his favourite new food and wine books in his 112,000-follower Instagram feed.
Victoria Moore, Telegraph, Sept 2015
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Explore the pleasures of wine with our award-winning Wine School. Whether you are starting to explore or building your experience, our book gives you the tools to recognise, remember and enjoy wine.
Featuring a foreword by Emma Thompson, our book focusses on the classic grape varieties that from the backbone of great wines the world over. For each grape there are innovative practical pages that best describe vital factors such as aroma, flavour and balance. Background pages to help broaden your understanding and discussions by our Masters of Wine and other experts.
Exploring & Tasting Wine is from people who teach wine every day, and who know the questions wine-lovers, both novices and experienced, want to ask. Because we do not believe that wine is a cut-and-dried subject. And we know that in the end, a wine can be summed up in one short sentence: ‘Is it good to drink?’
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