Is dry January beneficial?

This enlightening article on Decanter.com was written by Dr. Michael Apstein, a bit of wine/alcohol science in plain English: CLICK HERE to read it on their site.

Wine Education Service: tastings & courses Belfast 2016 update

See below for the latest on forthcoming wine courses and tastings running in Belfast, plus a new evening tasting added to the programme at the end of April and updated PayPal button for card payments at the bottom.

Impossible castle in Slovenia

Saturday 30 January 2016: Spain and Portugal one-day workshop £90

LAST FEW PLACES LEFT!

French wine touring & tasting e-book

UPDATED Sept. 2016 - see link at bottom.
I've combined, tweaked, edited, added to and reformatted my special French wine and travel supplements into a Kindle e-book, which is now available to buy on AMAZON. This includes three huge reports on the Languedoc and Saint-Chinian, updated Cahors wine touring, independent Champagne wine-growers' mini-guide, 'Chablis on foot' (and more) and Alsace Grand Cru among other things (follow links for more info). Click on the links below to buy the e-book in your country's Amazon store (prices subject to exchange rate variations):

Amazon US ($6.50), Amazon UK (£4.95), France (€5.89), Canada ($8.43), Australia ($8.58), India (₹399), Germany (€5.89), Spain (€5.89), Italy (€5.89), Netherlands (€5.89), Japan (¥682), Brazil (R$21.32) and Mexico ($120.93).
Alternatively, it's also available on offer (compared to buying them individually) for £4.99 (about $6.50 or €6) as a 125-page PDF file with photos using the PayPal button below, by card or your own PP account although you don't need one to buy it.

THIS E-MAGAZINE WAS UPDATED IN SEPTEMBER 2016: CLICK HERE TO BUY THE LATEST VERSION (Amazon Kindle or PDF: US$5.99 / £4.50 / €5.37)...

France: 'classic' reds, St-Emilion & Loire Valley...

For want of a better title, or 'some tasty Merlot and Cab Franc' perhaps. Over to those two reds then, both from well-known producers, both different and one of them better value probably because the 'appellation' is less sought-after...

Who'd have thought we'd be invited to Chateau de Chassilier, ay Gessiah?
Pic from josephjanoueix.com, misquoted Python line from davidpbrown.co.uk.

Château Haut-Sarpe 2012 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (13.5% abv): 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 12 months in oak - Quite closed up to start with background cedar-y oak hints and aromatic plum/soy sauce notes, quite lush and concentrated with structured tannins vs rounder mouth-feel too, grip and freshness to finish; pretty serious red needing a few more years to express itself. £20 for 2009: Eton Vintners (England), Fine & Rare Wines also lists a few older vintages. €33 cellar door France - Joseph Janoueix Wines.

Couly-Dutheil 2014 'La Diligence' Chinon (13% abv) - Surprisingly ripe and smoky with earthy rustic edges vs aromatic damson and sweet blueberry/red pepper, fairly supple with a little dry bite and weight; attractive red, went well with a Chinese roast duck dish. £14.95 Perfect Cellar (London), €9.30 cellar door.