Testing tasting times

The Spring tasting season is in full swing with visits to the Beaujolais and Chablis, as well as keeping in touch with what’s going on in the Côte d’Or. We could do with the weather warming up a bit as the vines, though mostly saved from the frost events of April and even early May, seem reluctant to get into their growth stride.

I also found time to nip over to London for a dinner and lunch at Berry Bros & Rudd (pictured below). Last week saw four intense tasting days for the white leg of our annual Burgfest tastings: analysis of 220 whites from 1er and grand cru vineyards in the 2016 vintage. The full report is about to be uploaded, with recommendations from several producers who really got this difficult vintage right.

BBR lunch

Tomorrow, I am off to Hong Kong and Shanghai, for the International Conference on the Wine Market and Cultures of Consumption, a joint venture between HK Polytechnic and the Université de Bourgogne. Just polishing up my presentation now! And I shall certainly be fitting in a few wine tastings while I am there.