Wine: Torn between the past and the future

The new year is upon us and at this time of year I always find myself a little betwixt and between — torn between the past and the future, memories of the year just passed, mixing with the anticipation of the one to come.

In wine terms, this means reliving some of the emotions I felt when confronted with extraordinary scents and flavours during the year.

From discovering that ‘natural’ skin-contact orange wine matches brilliantly with bitter radicchio lettuce in Ballymaloe House, to that 100-year-old sherry straight from its original cask in the cellars of Gonzales Byass in Jerez.