I have been delightfully catching up on some of the 2007 whites that I have not so far reported on in this extensive survey of German 2007s and Alsace 2007s . I’m particularly glad to...

Considerable interest in Germany’s 2008 vintage has been expressed here on our forum, with up to date input from the likes of Klaus Peter Keller and Michael Schmidt . The following 2008...

While their bigger and more downmarket rivals offer increasingly cut-throat deals on wine (three bottles for £10 or even £9) to lure customers into their stores to buy food etc, Waitrose has...

First an apology to the many visitors here who do not live in the UK and are therefore not within reach of a branch of our most famous retailer (especially of underwear - hence the image, not...

Restaurant de la Gare in the village of Guewenheim just west of Mulhouse in southern Alsace and 50 kilometres from Basel and the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland will long stay in my...

We Masters of Wine went back to school last month with an AGM preceded by a tasting in Vintners' Hall (shown here) of some of Austria’s finest wines. This was held in honour of Pepi Schuller...

This line up of more than 50 wines from one of Europe's less well-known wine producing countries came about thanks to the enthusiastic response of a purple pager to a trip to Luxembourg...

Last night Hugh Johnson and I launched Hallwag's German edition of the latest, 6th edition of the World Atlas of Wine in Munich’s Literaturhaus, a sort of literary restaurant in one of...

The beauty of wine is supposed to be that, unlike so much of the food and drink we eat today, it is so ‘natural’. To produce wine, as all of us wine students have been taught, all you need are...

In a nutshell : Vertiginous slopes and fine, racy, underpriced Rieslings at all sweetness levels. Main grape : Riesling (white). The vines which grow on the banks of the Mosel...

See also my tasting notes on 169 Alsace 2007s. It is perhaps not surprising that French wine producers have been much slower to embrace screwcaps as an alternative stopper to natural...

Never let it be said that I ignore the wishes of purple pagers. Three months ago Mark Prust of Wales asked here on the old forum why there weren't more tasting notes on Alsace wines. Voila!...

Hungary In a nutshell : Some fiery whites and some good value, plus the historic sweet white of Tokaj. Main grapes : Furmint, Hárslevelű , Leányka (white);...

In a nutshell : A work in progress and few wines exported. Main grapes : Müller-Thurgau, Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder, Riesling, Traminer (white). Saale-Unstrut, the area...

In a nutshell : Increasing trend away from bulk towards quality wines. Main grapes : Müller-Thurgau, Riesling (white); Spätburgunder (red). The varied terrain, much of it...