September is officially the beginning of autumn and whilst an Indian Summer this year is not completely out of the question, the start of the month has been more cold and wet than mists and mellow fruitfulness. All three merchants have gone for a similar theme this month, with big, … Continue reading
A while ago, I reviewed Cambridge’s first private member’s club, 12a, for my blog (here). It turns out that the brother of 12a’s front-of-house manager Mark Pope is a chef at local gastropub The Punter, so when I got an invitation from Ben Pope to a food and wine matching evening, … Continue reading
Dear Tom, What do people mean when they refer to the New World and the Old World in wine ? Are these the main styles now ? I thought it was Bordeaux or Burgundy ? There are almost as many styles are there are wines, but some broad-brush categorisations are … Continue reading
Dear Tom What are fruit-driven wines – is it a good thing ? What else should I look for in a wine ? Many, perhaps most, wines these days are fruit driven – that is to say, they have lots of fruit aromas on the nose and palate. However, there … Continue reading
When I first moved to Cambridge over a decade ago, it felt very much like a city outside the influence of London – located (as it was then) over an hour’s train ride away. As a tourist hub, we would – and still do – get large numbers of visitors … Continue reading
Dear Tom Can you give me tips on how to serve wine properly ? There are a few of things you need think about when serving wine to get the most out of it: Temperature Put simply, white wines should generally be chilled and red wines should be at room … Continue reading
I often hear from people who are interested in wine, but find some of the terminology confusing and the sheer number of different grape varieties, regions and styles bewildering. In the coming weeks, I will be exploring some of these areas in more depth and answering questions, but for now, here is … Continue reading
I recently got to know through Twitter a US blogger whose site, Fringe Wine, is dedicated to “unusual grape varietals and/or grown in unfamiliar regions all over the world”. I love this idea and went through my own Fringe Wine phase a while ago in search of something local when … Continue reading
Many men of a certain age approaching their mid-life crisis often start thinking of ridiculously powerful sports cars and pretty young girls. But for Steve Hovington – briefly a synth pop star in the 80s with B-Movie and now manager of the Cherry Hinton Road branch of Cambridge Wine Merchants … Continue reading
I used about half of this bottle from Cambridge Wine Merchants for a recipe that I was test-driving a few weekends ago for MasterChef finalist Alex Rushmer who, amongst other things, is about to open a new restaurant somewhere in Cambridge – recently revealed as The Hole in The Wall in Little … Continue reading
July – a month that brings end-of-term things like long summer holidays (for students, teachers, MPs and the like), various weekend festivals and festivities and hopefully, more good weather. Not the most serious of months, then. So what is needed is three cracking, summery, fun wines with plenty of individuality … Continue reading
Tom Lewis – City Connect’s wine critic – talks about the beautiful Wachau valley in Austria and one of his favourite hotels in the region – Hotel Schloß Dürnstein. This luxury Relais & Chateaux hotel is a 17th century castle with picturesque views across the River Danube. I used to … Continue reading
Cambridge is a great place to be in the summer – we get some of the driest weather in Europe’s northern half and we have lots of green spaces. I can think of no other city where you are likely to see cows grazing in the centre – and that … Continue reading
The three inaugural offerings from Cambridge’s “Big Three” independent wine merchants for this first Wine of the Month column have set the bar pretty high. The brief for them was simply to select their best wine for the current month, June, within a sensible price range – from an everyday … Continue reading
City Connect’s wine critic Tom Lewis – the Cambridge Wine Blogger – reviews one of his favourite gastropubs in Cambridgeshire – the Three Horseshoes in Madingley. There comes a time when you have a young family when going for a meal means just finding somewhere that will keeps the kids … Continue reading
City Connect’s wine critic Tom Lewis – the Cambridge Wine Blogger – shares his experience of a pub lunch at The Plough in Coton. This was the first time Tom had visited this gastropub and, reading what he has to say about the experience, it certainly sounds like it won’t … Continue reading
City Connect’s wine critic Tom Lewis – the Cambridge Wine Blogger – shares his experience of a lunchtime visit to Hotel Du Vin & Bistro in Cambridge. Central Cambridge is a beautiful place and a regular feature on the tourist circuit, but rather as a result of this, the quality of restaurants in … Continue reading
The Matthew Jukes 100 Best Australian Wines Roadshow rolled into Cambridge on 31 March as Noel Young Wines held a tasting at John de Bruyne’s Anstey Hall. Tom Lewis, the Cambridge Wine Blogger, was there and shares his recommendations from the roadshow with City Connect. Described by award-winning Daily Mail … Continue reading