tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745113092602323082011-07-31T00:34:10.517-07:00Cork & Bottle owner Don Hewitson's Blog.Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.comBlogger91100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-73895564665670528612010-04-06T07:36:00.000-07:002010-04-06T07:48:57.706-07:00

A customer was recently telling me how the quality of New Zealand Sav Blanc’s weren’t what they were. I asked him what wines he had been tasting, and they were all Supermarket own labels, bought in bulk, sloshed around in a tanker all the way from one side of the world to another….then presumably given an extra filtration (which dilutes flavour even more) to remove deposits ….. And then bottled

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-42010258374999414862010-02-17T04:43:00.000-08:002010-02-17T05:02:03.640-08:00

I realise I keep rabbiting on about Rosé, and maybe mid-winter is a strange time to talk about the stuff. But, I just wanted to point out that like other wines; there are different bottles for different times of the year. At this ghastly cold, bleak time in the calendar, I plump for the more full bodied pinkos from Spain – and we have a terrific example. BODEGAS FARINA ROSADO is a robust, full

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-29606903843225416692009-11-03T02:25:00.000-08:002009-11-03T02:27:33.919-08:00

NOVEMBER IS BEAUJOLAIS MONTH!LET’S FACE IT, THIS IS A DULL, GREY MONTH.....AND IT IS MOST PROBABLY RAINING AS YOU READ THIS !!!! WE WILL BE FEATURING LYONNAIS CUISINE ONTHE DAILY BISTRO MENUSALL THE CRU BEAUJOLAIS & SAINT VERAN ARE REDUCED TO £20A SELECTION WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE BY THE GLASS & CARAFEDON’T FORGETTHURSDAY NOVEMBER 19TH IS“NOUVEAU DAY”A little light heartedness can’t go amiss….

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-74209629968493235432009-11-03T01:41:00.000-08:002009-11-03T02:25:11.890-08:00

"Beaujolais is the only red wine region in the world producing wine that flaunts gaiety, lightness, youthfulness and extroverted fragrance: the most perfect ‘quaffing’ red equally at home with or without food.The region is fascinating, with rolling hills with numerous beautiful, unspoilt villages scattered all around. Beaujolais is a hospitable area where there are 7,000 growers, many with

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-31858844725160684482009-10-09T08:33:00.000-07:002009-10-09T08:39:25.608-07:00

In 1988 I launched “The Campaign For Real Rosé” with a week of "Listel Gris de Gris Dinners" at Methuselahs. Guy Prouheze, a Michelin starred chef from Aumont Aubrac flew in and cooked some brilliant food. It was a lot of fun – nothing too serious (we even had music by The Keith Nichol’s Hot Six on the Friday night)…..except the food and wine!In those halcyon days pink stuff accounted for the

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-18191331699529849372009-07-27T06:48:00.000-07:002009-07-27T07:04:02.980-07:00

I first visited the Chianti region way back in 1974. My host was the Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who ran his renowned family Estate and was President of the Chianti Classic consortium. He had recently sold the name Castello di Brolio to the Canadian spirits group Seagram, who were investing a vast sum of money in a new winery. I had never before seen row upon row of giant stainless steel vats. There

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-56333395480412081282008-12-13T05:48:00.000-08:002008-12-13T06:03:01.163-08:00

It’s that time of the year again. Grey, gloomy and wet outside. And then there is the prospect of spending Christmas with the Rellies. What you need is a special bottle or three to go with lunch or dinner. Something a little different – without pushing the boat out too far in these credit crunch times? We have just the wines - and here are just a few of my ideas.* WHITES *COLLARDS Hawkes Bay DRY

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-16244051072056867312008-12-13T05:30:00.000-08:002008-12-13T06:10:19.142-08:00

“I THINK IT IS A GREAT ERROR TO CONSIDER A HEAVY TAX ON WINE AS A TAX ON LUXURY. ON THE CONTRARY, IT IS A TAX ON THE HEALTH OF OUR CITIZENS.” Thomas JeffersonGordon Brown and his poodle have increased duty more this year, than the past ten years put together ….. And there is another increase next year! And we meekly accept things. In Spain, as soon as the Ministry of Health attempted to impose

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-674511309260232308.post-28602902404944118862008-03-05T07:21:00.000-08:002008-08-19T09:25:56.217-07:00

When we think of the history of the world’s great wine regions we think in centuries - hundreds and hundreds of years of gradual evolution. In Burgundy the Roman legions introduced vines and in the 14th century the expansionist Dukes of Valois, with the aid of the clergy, extended plantings to the borders of the Netherlands. Later the French revolution changed all that as the powers that be

Don Hewitsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12622615351677300723noreply@blogger.com0