Let’s Celebrate With Madeira
Text Ilkka Síren
Lovebirds. The most delightful poultry of them all. Sparkling wine has been the lovey-dovey drink of choice since pretty much forever.
Sarah Ahmed
Wine Writer
Sarah Ahmed
Wine Writer
Sarah Ahmed is an independent, London-based wine writer, educator and judge with a particular interest in the wines of Portugal and Australia.
Sarah was awarded the Vintners Cup in 2003, the Portuguese Annual Wine Awards’ Wine Writer of the Year 2009 and was short-listed for the International Wine & Spirit Competition Communicator of the Year in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to publishing www.thewinedetective.co.uk she writes for several respected magazine titles including Decanter and The World of Fine Wine.
Since 2006, she has contributed on Portugal, Port and Madeira to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book. Sarah consulted on Portugal and Australia for the seventh edition of The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson MW and has contributed on Portugal for the upcoming 4th edition of Jancis Robinson MW’s The Oxford Companion to Wine. Counted among Decanter’s “experts par excellence,” she is Regional Chair for Portugal at Decanter World Wine Awards, the world’s largest and most prestigious wine competition. In 2013, she was admitted to the rank of Cavaleiro of the Confraria do Vinho do Porto for her commitment and contribution to Port wine.
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Back to the Thirties With The House of Tawnies
Text Sarah Ahmed
The Big Fortified Tasting is the largest wine fair in the world exclusively dedicated to fortified wines.
If It’s Meant To Be, It’s Meant To Be
Text Ilkka Sirén
It was the summer of 2009. I was working in Bierzo, Spain as a cellar hand / vineyard mule. For me it was like a dream come true.
Olho no Pé: To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
Text Sarah Ahmed
In my last post about the Douro I urged you to “seek and ye shall find,” for no other Portuguese region can surely boast such a rich diversity of terroir?
Easter Witches and Port
Text Ilkka Sirén
Easter time is upon us. We Finns are quite talented in taking any religious holiday, remove anything vaguely religious about it and turn it into a big eating and drinking fest.
Blend, All About Wine: Chaos Theory & The New Douro Symposium
Text Sarah Ahmed
One of my favourite varietal anecdotes concerns Cabernet Sauvignon about which Californian winemaker Sean Thackrey memorably intoned,
Blend, All About Wine: Chaos Theory & The New Douro Symposium
Text Sarah Ahmed
One of my favourite varietal anecdotes concerns Cabernet Sauvignon about which Californian winemaker Sean Thackrey memorably intoned,
The Holy Alliance of Cheeseburgers and Port Wine
Text Ilkka Síren
Now before you go all “oh no he didn’t”, consider this for a second. Pairing food and wine was never meant to be an impossible task. If we start breaking things into molecular level we risk being bored to death by our own curiosity.
Quinta de Soalheiro – Alvarinho Every Which Way
Text Sarah Ahmed
‘Scales fall from the eyes.’ It’s a dramatic phrase. One which I use twice in this post so, dear reader, I felt a responsibility to investigate its origin. Perhaps you already know that it comes from the Bible.
Red Bubbles Pushing the Envelope
Text Ilkka Síren
Sparkling wine has a unique place in our society. It is treated, talked about and consumed quite differently than any other beverage.
Of Paradox and Patrimony: An Interview with Marta Soares, Casal Figueira
Text Sarah Ahmed
“Vital is my face,” says Marta Soares of Casal Figueira. Together with her late husband, António Carvalho, Soares has not only rescued this humble, autochthonous Lisboa white grape variety from obscurity, but also shown it in a dazzling light.
Small World of Grapes
Text Ilkka Sirén
Portugal’s varietal diversity is definitely one of its key strengths. It’s like a giant treasure chest full of possibilities.