Posts by: Natasha Hughes

Natasha Hughes

Natasha Hughes

Introducing the Stannary Street Wine Company

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Ideas, news and reviews.

Introducing the Stannary Street Wine Company

I’ve long been an admirer of Flint Wines: their portfolio is packed with characterful, food-friendly wines and their prices (given that they trade in wines from some of the most prestigious regions in the world) aren’t too scary. But Flint has been a bit of a wine trade secret for its entire existence, largely because they mainly sell to restaurants.

Stannary St tastingLate last year, though, they announced that they were opening up a retail arm, the Stannary Street Wine Company. I was invited along to their new offices, which are splendidly equipped with a generously proportioned marble spittoon (left) to try some of the wines in their portfolio. Like its sister company, Flint, Stannary Street is particularly strong on Burgundy, but there are also some terrific wines from the USA and elsewhere in their range. read more

The Sportsman

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Restaurants.

The Sportsman

I’ve been going to the Sportsman for years, long before it became a famous foodie haunt. I’d heard rumours about this magic place on the Kentish coast, but have to admit I wasn’t hugely impressed the first time I rocked up. The pub is a ramshackle old building situated on a particularly bleak stretch of rocky beach. But, as it turns out, they’re right – you shouldn’t judge a pub by its paintwork.

Once you’re inside, the Sportsman is a pleasant, welcoming space with a traditional bar and various spaces strewn with tables and chairs. My favourite spot is in the whitewashed back room, which is usually flooded with light, whatever the weather. read more

Tastings, teaching and events

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Tastings, teaching and events.

Tastings, teaching and events

Consumer and trade tastings

I can organise and host tastings tailored to your specific requirements.

I’ve worked in the wine trade for over 15 years, and have conducted seminars and tastings for all kinds of clients, from wine trade bodies such as Wine Australia and Wines of Chile, to unpretentious consumer events.

I can provide you with insight into some of the world’s greatest wine regions or take you on a voyage of discovery along the wine world’s less-trodden paths, or simply teach you the fundamentals of tasting. read more

Consultancy services

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Consulting.

Consultancy services

I offer my clients a bespoke service, tailored to meet their needs.

Private clients

Define your palate to refine your purchases: By working closely with my clients, I can help them gain a better understanding of the kinds of wines they really enjoy. This, in turn, helps to ensure that their future wine purchases are made on the basis of real enjoyment, rather than being led by price alone.

Personal shopping service: I work with clients to help them build and manage a portfolio of wines, with appropriate choices for both immediate and long-term drinking. I can use my personal contacts within the wine trade to help clients source the wines they want at the best possible price. read more

How I rate wines

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Wine ratings: an explanation.

How I rate wines

Most of my colleagues rate wines according to a points system. The trouble is, they use different systems – some are fond of a 20 point system, while others use the 100-point system (although, in truth, you’ll rarely see wines scored below 12/20 or 80/100). Very few writers explain how they arrive at their scores, and even those that do differ on the criteria they use.

I want to make life (well, wine ratings anyway) a bit simpler. I will only ever write up a wine on this site if, hand on heart, I think it’s worth recommending. Furthermore, I want to make my rating system easy to understand, so if you see this icon glass full 25px it means that I think it’s worth splashing out on a glass of this wine, while if you see this icon bottle full 25px I recommend you buy a bottle. I reserve this symbol case 30px for the very best wines, those where I’d be tempted to run out and buy a whole case. read more

Equipo Navazos, I Think En Rama, Saca of October 2014

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Wine of the moment.

Equipo Navazos, I Think En Rama, Saca of October 2014

I Think Manzanilla Octubre 2014 - LabelGiven that my MW dissertation was on the subject of en rama sherries, it’s only appropriate that my first wine of the week post should be about one.

First off, what is an ‘en rama’ sherry? The truth is that there’s no official definition of the term en rama (which isn’t terribly helpful) By and large, if you see the words on the label of a sherry bottle, you can be pretty sure that it’s been bottled with minimum intervention from the winemaker. (In technical terms, most of them are unfined, and have only been lightly filtered.) The idea is to help guide sherry lovers towards an experience that’s the next best thing to drinking sherry straight from the butt. read more

About Natasha

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In About me.

About Natasha

Perhaps my proudest accomplishment in the wine trade has been graduating as a Master of Wine (MW) in 2014, a qualification as prestigious as it is difficult to achieve (there are currently only 340 Masters of Wine in the world, of whom just over 100 are women). Along the way, I managed to win four out of the seven prizes awarded in 2014, including the Outstanding Achievement Award, which is given to the graduate who excelled across all exam disciplines (tasting, theory and dissertation).

In 2015, I was also shortlisted for the inaugural Pio Cesare Food and Wine Writing prize at the annual Louis Roederer Awards, the Oscars of the wine writing world. read more

Writing published elsewhere

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Writing.

Writing published elsewhere

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Full disclosure

Natasha Hughesby Natasha Hughes

In Principles.

Full disclosure

There has been a lot of discussion on websites and social media recently about whether or not wine and food writers should accept freebies (wine samples, restaurant meals, trips, etc).

This is my take on a contentious issue.

Wine and food writers get invited to travel to some great places to visit vineyards and taste wine. Some of us are also lucky enough to get sent bottles of wine to taste or receive invitations to go and eat out in restaurants.

In theory, receipt of a trip, meal or bottle of wine might be considered to put the recipient under obligation to write a positive review. However, in my experience, a responsible journalist (or blogger) feels no such obligation. Our primary responsibility is to our readers rather than to wine and food producers, restaurateurs or PRs. read more