STARTING YOUR WINE COLLECTION

In the absence of most things this year, wine has played a rather more important role than one might expect. At its most fundamental, it has helped to blot the tedium of everyday life, providing both intellectual stimulation and invigorating refreshment – allowing one to momentarily whisk off to far flung corners of the world.

A recent visit from Jeff Brinkman gave us the opportunity to re-taste his superb 2019 Pinots. While the more illustrious vineyards situated on the poorest, rockiest soils possess tremendous promise and deserve a little longer in the cellar; we discovered the Family Farm cuvee was already in a beautiful place.

Freshly returned from the first of our two annual tours around Piedmont to assess the 2019 Barolo and Barbaresco vintages, we decided to make a concerted effort to also taste an array of 2013s at ten years old.

This year, perhaps more than any other, solace has been found in transportative bottles of great wine. Without recourse to travelling, it has come down to the willingness of producers to send samples, and in that regard I’ve been blessed with some very accommodating winemakers who have been happy to fire bottles across the seas for me to taste in the comfort and (occasional) peace of my own home.