The sun was shining for what promised to be a dram fine day out at the 2nd Midlands Whisky Festival held at Stourbridge Town Hall… Whisky Fest is here! Saturday 29th September 2012 Thanks to everyone – customers, exhibitors, organising staff and Jock our piper, who all played their part in making the event such a success. We had record crowds … Read More
A taste of Australia
We had another full house for our Australian wine tasting evening on September 5th. Here are our impressions: The quality of Australian wine has come on in leaps and bounds (sorry about the kangaroo imagery) in recent years, no longer falling into the category of, “not for drinking, but for ‘laying down and avoiding’ as Monty Python once put it. These … Read More
Anthony Barton – in the best possible taste:
image courtesy of David Eley, A Good Nose.Com Specialist wine merchants Nickolls and Perks have an enviable reputation for hosting great wine-tasting events. This one really has us excited: As part of our 215th anniversary celebrations, we are delighted to welcome Anthony Barton of Châteaux Léoville and Langoa fame. Friendly, discerning, knowledgeable, keen to offer fine quality and value, … Read More
Sweet Dreams are made of this…
As all of you addicted to Come Dine With Me will know, a nice glass of pudding wine is a great way to round off a dinner party with your favourite dessert. With the simple rule in mind ‘the sweeter the pudding, the sweeter the wine’ you can’t go wrong. As noted exponents of the great wines of Bordeaux we at … Read More
Italians Win In The Value Stakes!!
Tasting Date 4th July 2010 The complexity of Italian wines brings fear and trepidation to the most seasoned professional so the temptation to play it safe and show some of the well known names such as Chianti, Frascati and Barolo must have been strong. After a cautious start in the shape of our Prosecco Spumante DOCG Conegliano E Valdobbiadenne Ca Moulin (£13.80), James Baker, not … Read More
Go for Gold at this year’s Olympics!
The Olympics will soon be coming to town, a welcome relief particularly for the Greeks from the constant barrage of gloomy economic news. Greece, the birth place of the games, is also largely regarded as the pioneer of intelligent wine making with evidence of early wine storage and pressing vessels dating back over 4000 years. To celebrate Great British success … Read More
A tour around France with Susy Atkins – a real treat…
N&P had been awarded this ‘Celebration of French Vineyards Masterclass’ with Susy, as winners of the Wines of France competition initiated by wine trade journal Harpers. James Baker master-minded our strategy for this prestigious competition, by organising a faceoff tasting between French and New World wines, to demonstrate the quality, diversity and value coming out of French vineyards. For Susy … Read More
Grands Jours de Bourgogne
The Grands Jours de Bourgogne is a biannual event organised by the Burgundy Wine Board, to show off the wines of the region, which is aptly named in france ‘Cote D’Or’, the golden Hillside. La Romanee Conti, a tiny vineyard a few miles north of Beaune, Burgundy’s cultural and Historical capital, is recognised as the most expensive plot of land … Read More
The Cava stole the show….
Much amusement was had last night in the atmospheric candlelit N&P cellars, as we were lead blind by James Baker, our resident speaker, sniffing and slurping through six individual sparkling wines, the process of elimination the key to spotting the Champagne. The Gosset-Brabant Grande Reserve proved to be quite obvious stylistically with plenty of toasty and yeasty character, and also the most popular, but certainly not unanimously, … Read More
Flavours of the Grain…March
Though Whisky has been revived as a specialist field for several years now down at the Ye Olde Corner Shoppe in Stourbridge, the arrival of beer is definitely hot off the press. Bottlings from Sammy Smith’s Tadcaster Brewery and Brew Dog proved popular enough with festive revellers but we wanted to explore the current fascination with micro breweries, So we … Read More