With summer holidays rapidly approaching I’m focusing on the Loire this week, given that so many of us will find ourselves in France in the coming months. 

Italy is on my mind this week having recently watched the documentary Natural Resistance at the Grainstore in Ballymaloe about rebel “natural” wine makers in Italy.

The buzz word in the wine world is ‘natural’. While many of the best wines are made with minimal interference, producers of natural wines are more rigorous.