Liz Sagues

1 week ago | hamhigh.co.uk | Liz Sagues

Mornington Peninsula - vineyards with a sea-view. (Image: Image: Parker Blain/Wine Australia) Have you ever thought of wine in terms of fabric? I know I’ve promised to avoid extravagant descriptions, but there is some sense behind this question. Wine has texture that you can feel in your mouth, rather like your hands experience as they caress a fabric. And a classic example is pinot noir. There’s a silkiness to the best examples, a feeling that the finest chiffon is floating there.

1 month ago | hamhigh.co.uk | Liz Sagues

Podcaster Susie Barry does a taste test samples of wine that have been lightstruck. (Image: susieandpeter.com) From now on, I’ve made a resolution that will fundamentally affect my wine buying habits. I shall avoid, if I possibly can, any wine in a clear glass bottle. The rude awakening for this came in three glasses of a southern French rosé: one crisp and fruity, the second with a vegetal, cabbagy character, the third stripped of almost all flavour and scent.

1 month ago | sussexexpress.co.uk | Liz Sagues

The fanfares are silenced, the flares extinguished, the welcoming crowds gone, the razzmatazz over – but the Sussex team who have successfully completed the World’s Toughest Row have memories that will live with them for ever. Dell Quay Sailing Club members Jon Wilburn, Steve Potter and Jason Howard, plus friend Dan Dicker, took 44 days to complete the 3,000-mile Atlantic crossing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua, finishing 15th in the 38-boat fleet.

2 months ago | hamhigh.co.uk | Liz Sagues

Whoever invented the champagne method - whether the 17th century English physician Christopher Merret, French monk Dom Pérignon, or his compatriot clerics more than a century earlier - they did a great service to those who love bubbles. Today, the ultra-protective champagne producers strictly enforce their legal right to ban winemakers outside their region from using the 'c' word to describe how they make their wine. But it doesn't matter.

Nov 23, 2024 | hamhigh.co.uk | Liz Sagues

Two words sum up this festive column - alternative and sweet. Seasonal suggestions so often concentrate, understandably, on the classics, but staying with them alone excludes the adventurous pleasure of other celebratory wines. Let's work backwards from the end of any special meal, particularly because sweet styles often get less attention than they deserve.