Three days, two sore feet and one headache later, the London Wine Fair is over. Thank the Lord.
So what have been the news highlights of the fair? Bibendum’s social networking seminar was an eye-opener and now I’m scared by how much more there is beyond blogging and tweeting. There aren’t enough hours in the day. I am tweeting now – see my Twitter page here – so become a follower and I’ll keep you updated with the latest stories as soon as I get them.
If you are already a follower of the Gibb Gospel, you’ll have been one of the first to hear David Cox is taking over as the head of Wines of New Zealand. I’m so pleased for him and it’s a good appointment. I can’t wait to see how it works out with twin brother Michael Cox as head of Wines of Chile UK and David at the Kiwi helm. I’ve suggested a dance off between Chile and New Zealand with Michael renowned for being the wine world’s John Travolta/Michael Flatley..
Also interesting to see Tyrrell’s won’t be bottling any 2008 reds this year (check out decanter.com for my story). It’s likely other producers including Hope won’t be bottling any reds either and will move straight on to the 2009 when it’s ready.
And the wines? Well, a fellow first year on the MW course is a proud Slovenian, so he persuaded me to visit the Verus winery stand. And I was pleasantly surprised. After being shown where Slovenia was on the map (geography never was my best subject), I discovered a top notch Sauv Blanc and an interesting Furmint. The labels are cool are modern too. Go Slovenia!
Sorry to name drop, but I got to taste Penfold’s Grange 2004. The joys of being a journalist. Bloody marvellous. It’s one of those wines that lures you in, then makes you happy for the rest of the day.It’s nowhere near ready yet having just been released. But if you are looking for something drinking well, the new Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling is gorgeous with a honeyed nose, and loads of lime and fruit salad. At 11.5%, you can drink a whole bottle. It’s been repackaged and comes in an old-school brown Alsatian bottle with a 70s label.
Anyway, that’s all folks. Heaps more to report but I’ll do that over the coming week. Time to put my two sore feet up and take an aspirin.
