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MARTIN’S BLOG
 TASTINGS
New Tasting Coming Soon CHAMPAGNE VINTAGE 2008 REPORT10 October 2008The 2008 Vintage update from Benoit Marguet - owner and winemaker of Champagne Marguet in Ambonnay. A SHERRY FOR MY SWEETHEART (PART 1)18 September 2008Largely hidden but not forgotten SERVICE WITH A SMARL23 November 2007One of the greatest benefits of (and one of the best reasons for) working with wine is the opportunity to travel and experience the cuisine of different countries. STORM IN AUSTRIA28 September 2007I am writing this column from the Kirchenlandl area of Styria in Austria, about 2.5 hours drive south west of Vienna. 22 years ago, a much younger and fitter Martin C, sister Antje and best mate Tiny visited this region and spent a week with the warmly hospitable Graf family, eating piles of Schnitzel, splitting reams of wood for the tile oven and drinking copious amounts of beer and home-distilled schnaps. THE JOURNEY HOME22 August 2007I am on my way back to Auckland after nearly 8 months in London,visits to many foreign vineyards and aching bones from a multitude of economy-class seats in the sky. A slight detour is called for and I manage to extend my birthday celebrations by 5 hours by hopping from London to Boston by AA. PROBOSCISES21 August 2007We generally take our senses for granted. I sometimes hear of people admonished to use “some common sense”. But common is exactly that, common, and the readership of the Ponsonby News can hardly be referred to as “common”. Hence we shall hastily cast this additional sense aside. THE RIVERS OF BABYLON - Avoiding the mines beyond the vines02 July 2007Omar is very punctual. He is waiting patiently in front of the Amman Intercontinental next to his spotless black Toyota Prado. How does one keep a car clean in this dusty environment? Mac, Knack and I are being whisked away, at 07h00, to his vineyards in the very north of Jordan, within sight of the border guard towers of Syria. PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY - GIVING IT MY ALL07 June 2007The big day was looming on the Sunday and, as part of my rigorous training programme, I decided to give it one final concerted effort. The first tasting was exclusively for sommeliers, but I managed to wangle my way in. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime challenge and all stops needed to be pulled. I’D LIKE TO BE, UNDER THE SEA….21 April 2007My travels (under the guise of wine tasting and learning of course) have taken me to South Africa (check out those pinotages and chenin blancs). A day in Dubai on the return leg from summer into winter was spent with my ex-colleague Anacreon who impressed me by chattering away in Swaheli to some of the Kenians working there. WHITHER NEXT?17 February 2007It has been two weeks since I arrived in a supposedly wintry London to start my journey through the European wine regions, hundreds of wines and a multitude of wine books, towards my meeting with destiny – the Master of Wine exams in June.  SHOPPING CARTENTER VOUCHER CODE
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