Author Archives: Dimitri
Scala Dei 2013 Priorat
Scala Dei is one of the most prominent brands in Priorat. It is situated in the most northern and mountainous areas of Priorat. The Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei represents the birthplace of wines and winemaking in the DOQ Priorat region. as the Carthusian monks brought from Provence in the 12th century the knowledge and techniques…
Wine books: learn more about wines
When you are learning about something you love (or simply very interested) , does it count as entertainment? I am not so sure, but it is clearly not a chore, or a thing to blame! A few good years I was buying wine books, some of them were consumed fully and rather quickly, and some…
Greek organic rose wine: Xinomavro 2013
Xinomavro Rose 2013 is an organic wine produced and bottled at the winery of Anestis Babatzimopoulous (wow, what a name!), in a district of Ossa, Lagadas. First impression is the aroma – a candy-like, floral and sweet red fruit (strawberry), very intensely perfumed. The flavour does not disappoint – you should expect a good balance of refreshing acidity, but not…
Wine games review
I have been searching the entire web to find interesting and engaging wine games. It could be a wine tasting experience, a murder mystery party, a trivia or quiz and some fun drinking games adaptation. It has been pretty difficult, as the category seems to be non-existent. The range is limited to some popular games…
Discover Organic: Mas Igneus, DOQ Priorat, Spain
Costers de l’Ermita is an estate located just north from the town of Gratallops. The views are very promising to be speclacular, they are steep and terraced and the owners will happily show them to any visitors who are keen to explore organic viticulture in Priorat, where Spanish organic wine is at its best. When…
New organic wines from Greece: dare to try?
I have been reviewing one Greek organic earlier on, and it appeared in my TOP Organic wine list, but I haven’t seen many of this sort on the supermarket or specialist retailer shelves. To be honest with you, I haven’t really expected or was thriving to learn more about Greek wines specifically. Why? Well, in…
Discover Organic: Albet i Noya, Penedes, Spain
This is a first edition of my virtual wine travel column. I am convinced that companies that are on the forefront of organic winemaking deserve a special attention and care, as much as they give to growing grapes organically and producing amazing wines. I start with a company called Albet i Noya, which is located in…
What to buy or avoid – May 2015
This May edition of ‘What to buy or avoid’ on the supermarket shelves comes packed with flavour. I have been quite successful in sourcing new organic wines, one interesting one with no added sulphites, but also a few flavour bombs. Have a look and I hope you will buy some of these wines online to…
Matching Wine and Food: a Healthy Way
Please have a look at my first ebook on wine and food matching. It is free of charge and I hope you like it. Feel free to try the wines and coo those delicious recipes from scratch! Buy A Healthy Way to Wine Tasting Wine tasting is a sensory evaluation of a particular wine…
I can eat ice cream now. Guilt free!
I always loved ice cream. I remember walking home from the beach and harassing my mother to buy me a vanilla ice cream in a crispy cone (preferably with chocolate coating as well). Nowadays I cannot afford a good scoop of a rich Cornish ice cream – it is just too fatty, and I am horrified…
Healthy BMI and cholesterol: facts or nonsense?
My partner and I have a different point of view on which paper to read over the weekend. I prefer the Guardian, but apparently nothing is better than Sunday Times. Oh well. A few weekends ago the latter contained quite an interesting and factual piece of work about health guidelines (i.e. healthy cholesterol levels and BMI),…
Barranc Dels Comellars 2012, organic Priorat
Barranc Dels Comellars 2012 from Priorat, Spain is an organic red wine. Alcohol 13.5% is surprisingly lower than what you get in Priorat usually (14.5-15%) . It has been aged for 3 months in barriques, so you can get first hints of woodiness and light touches of sweet spice, but not more than that. Let’s try…
Toscar 2014, Organic NSA, Tempranillo
Toscar 2014 is a no sulphites added and also organic Tempranillo. It states that it has been produced at Hillside vineyard, located in ‘la tierra de castilla’. Alcohol is 13.5% abv. First impression is not very good. I started to think that this is the case why many producers still stick to adding sulphites, as they…
Vina Arana 2006, Rioja Reserva
This wonderful bottle was sourced in Waitrose on my birthday (I thought I would buy something I know, but maybe better), so after paying approximately £22, I rushed back home to taste it. The name already promised much, as Alta is small, but very mighty sub-region, that normally produces only exceptional examples. The wine was…
Frares 2013, Priorat
Frares 2013 is a young-ish wine from Priorat. This was my first stop at Marks and Spencer to source Priorat fro dinner. I was quite surprised of the retail price as it was there at £11 (no special promotions). Let’s explore what’s the trick here. First of all, as you can expect from Priorat, it…
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