On Friday 29 April, Yalumba will celebrate International Viognier Day, first introduced to the global wine calendar in 2021 as the last Friday in April.
As my second year of slinging wine words rolls around, I just want to say thanks to all of you who read Through the Grapevine.
To those of you who have reached out to me with comments and questions, .
Now we know what tonic the Queen puts in her royal gin
This week Devon’s Luscombe’s Drinks became the official supplier of mixers. Buckingham Palace already has its own gin (£40), sloe gin (£30), Palace of Holyroodhouse Highland malt whiskies (£75), Buckingham Palace port (£30), Buckingham Palace Tokaji (£60), vintage Champagne (£40), and Pauillac (£40). You can also buy Buckingham Palace corkscrews (£12.95) and Windsor castle glass tumblers (also £12.95).
The royal family has its preferred supplier of Kent cobnuts (Aliens Farm), baths (About Baths), hairbrushes (Kent), broomsticks (A. Nash), horse feed (Allen & Page Ltd), luxury automobiles (Jaguar Land Rover Co), performance activewear (Musto), dog food (Judge’s Choice Petfood) and mattresses (Sleepeezee Ltd). I have no idea what they use to shine their boots, however, given the Wren’s Super Shoe Polish warrant has lapsed.
Rosé-all-day : Why it’s time to get serious about this fun wine Founder, Bacchus & Brodie
Spring is in the air, terraces have opened up and despite what the rain gods may think, rosé season is upon us! But what is a rosé? And why are red and white wines defined by grape or region like Cabernet Sauvignons or Chablis, yet we lump all rosés together under that one umbrella term?
Actually, I don’t know why we do that, but it is useful to know that rosés are made from a whole range of grapes, grown in different regions and climates all over the world and using a range of winemaking techniques, meaning there is real variety and wine-diversity under this pink blanket.
Drinking around the world: Take a trip to Lanzarote, wine paradise
The latest wine region to erupt onto the wine tourism atlas is Lanzarote, with the Canarian island hoping to be among the first destinations to revive European wine tourism.
With travel restrictions lifting, a former investment banker and surfing instructor from Guernsey and a former GB Olympic swimming trials finalist from Sunderland want to make sure we sample the fruits of the La Vendimia grape harvest and find our way to the Rubicon.
Channel islander Ollie Horton gave up the finance industry rat race to become a Lanzarote tour operator, offering wine tourism trips in the Canaries. When Covid kiboshed that, he set up the Wine Shop Lanzarote with Geordie sports coach Dan Priestley and Swiss Sven Grossenbacher, who runs his own design and media business.