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1 month ago | 
buff.ly | Louella Berryman |Mathilda Hill-Smith |Ciaran Griffiths |William Morris
What springs to mind when you think of Bordeaux? Probably châteaux the size of medieval palaces, formal dinners, and rows and rows of pristine vines, neatly manicured rose bushes the only other signs of plant life. What you’re unlikely to be imagining are cow horns stuffed with manure buried in the ground, or horse-drawn ploughs churning through earthworm-rich soil.
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Jan 10, 2025 | 
cluboenologique.com | Ashleigh Arnott |Nina Caplan |William Morris |Mathilda Hill-Smith
When author Pedro Reyes first started covering drinks stories in Mexico City, there were only a handful of bars capable of crafting culture-changing cocktails in a city that was unaware it wanted them. ‘Mexicans aren’t that interested in design cocktails, we are all about drinking in cantinas or long “sobremesas”… drinking inside a cocktail bar is not our kind of drinking.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
cluboenologique.com | Nina Caplan |Mathilda Hill-Smith |William Morris |Ciaran Griffiths
The New Year is upon us and after the indulgence of Christmas, it can be tempting to abstain from alcohol, fine food and most forms of fun for a while in an act of penance. Instead, try the odd visit somewhere special this month for one or two quality drinks – it’s a great way to fend off the January blues. While it’s certainly not the busiest time of year in hospitality, there are still some exciting new bars to visit.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | Mathilda Hill-Smith |Joel Hart |David Kermode |Louella Berryman
Armenian wine has been transformed since I visited the country in 2016. Apart from the superlative Zorah wines in Vayots Dzor, I didn’t taste much of interest other than a lot of good brandy. According to Caroline Gilby MW, there were only 25 registered wineries in country back then, now there’s over 150. ‘Wine is one of the fastest growing industries in the country… there’s been a revolution,’ she says.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | Louella Berryman |Joel Hart |Ashleigh Arnott |Mathilda Hill-Smith
‘We’re a team of innovators and we’re always exploring how we can break convention and shift consumer perception of what a whisky can be,’ says Chivas Brothers’ director of blending and innovation, Sandy Hyslop.
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Oct 29, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | David Kermode |Mathilda Hill-Smith |Ashleigh Arnott |Joel Hart
Oenotourism may be a modern term but travel and wine have been intertwined for millennia. Some of the world’s most famous vineyards were originally created by Romans whose soldiering was compensated by gifts of conquered land on which they planted vines, to assuage their thirst for home. Wine offers a taste of elsewhere – and when the taste is wonderful, it seems reasonable to hope that the ‘elsewhere’ will be, too.
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | David Kermode |Ashleigh Arnott |Mathilda Hill-Smith |Joel Hart
In episode 185 of The Drinking Hour podcast, host David Kermode is joined by Michel Drappier of Drappier Champagne. Drappier, who has just completed his 50th harvest, talks through the history of the estate, the changes he has made throughout his tenure and how he is beginning the process of passing the torch to the eighth generation of the family. The pair start the episode by explaining how the Drappier family went from selling cloth to making Champagne.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | Louella Berryman |Joel Hart |David Kermode |Mathilda Hill-Smith
Stretching 70 miles from east to west across rolling slopes, dotted with vineyards, wineries and immense natural beauty, Rioja is one of the truly legendary regions of the wine world, yet it remains largely undiscovered in person by most wine lovers. Far from the reaches of the more visited Madrid and Barcelona, Rioja sits in the far north of Spain, bordering on both France and the cool Atlantic Ocean.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | David Kermode |Joel Hart |Louella Berryman |Mathilda Hill-Smith
Chinese wine finds itself at an inflection point. Gone are the heady days of the early noughties when frenzied buying of Bordeaux first growths for business gifting was the norm in China. The impetus that spawned a series of joint ventures dedicated to Cabernet-based Chinese icon wines made in the image of Bordeaux, with similarly eye-watering price tags, has waned. This, of course, doesn’t tell the whole story.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
cluboenologique.com | Louella Berryman |Joel Hart |David Kermode |Mathilda Hill-Smith
In episode 183 of The Drinking Hour, David Kermode sits down with The Whisky Exchange’s Billy Abbott, whisky educator, author and judge, to delve into the world of fruit-forward styles. Over the next few weeks, Kermode and Abbott will explore Irish and Japanese whisky, as well as rare aged whisky. After covering Abbott’s journey from computer programming to spirits, the duo share their drinks ‘epiphany’ moments.
