Spätburgunder is the German name for Pinot Noir, the black grape made famous by Burgundy but also regarded as the crème de la crème of black grape varieties in Germany for quality winemaking. The name translates as Spät (late ripening) burgunder (Pinot). Similarly, you’ll find…
Ben Franks FRSA
5 Min Read
I regularly vent to my other half about how boring it is to watch people drink wine. And then I go and make a video for Novel Wines where I drink some wine. OK, I’m a hypocrite then, but isn’t it so boring watching other…
Ben Franks FRSA
6 Min Read
Hold on tight, here we go again! OK, I’ll admit it, I have a short attention span. When it comes to food and drink, I can’t pinpoint whether it’s curiosity or boredom but I will jump around and try new things like it’s a drug…
Ben Franks FRSA
5 Min Read
Georgia: the birth place of wine? The Armenians might contend the title, but Georgia is certainly one of oldest wine-making regions in the world. Throughout history, the people of Georgia have consistently produced wines uninterrupted- throughout wars, occupations, political shifts and cultural change. It is,…
Ben Franks FRSA
1 Min Read
Looking for a glass of something great? Here’s Ben’s list of his favourite places to buy wine online during lockdown. If you’d like to be on this list, please contact Ben. We only add our favourite merchants, so Ben will buy some wines from you…
Ben Franks FRSA
2 Min Read
I want to talk about pairing wine. Pairing it with food, arts like music or books, or pairing wine to an occasion. Here’s what winds me up There’s a seesaw effect with a saturation on both sides: countless articles listing the best pairings for certain…
Ben Franks FRSA
2 Min Read
Recently I wrote about three white grapes I think you should try and I realise while doing so I was sipping a glass of red. In much the same vein, in my capacity as buyer for Novel Wines, I come across lots of weird and…
Ben Franks FRSA
2 Min Read
Part of my job at Novel Wines is to source something off the beaten track, something delicious, we can bring back to the UK and share with wine lovers up and down the country. This means I’m privy to some pretty interesting stuff, including some…
Ben Franks FRSA
4 Min Read
“I don’t like cider,” are words I’ve said countless times. If you were to replace the word cider with wine and put someone else in my shoes, I’d probably sigh. It’s not necessarily that you don’t like wine, you just haven’t tried the right wine…
Ben Franks FRSA
4 Min Read
From one of the finest fizz I’ve tasted in a while to moreish, big white wine sunk alongside moreish Greek meze, here’s my week in wine. On Tuesday afternoon at the Novel Wines shop in Bath, Gyorgy, Elena and I met with our new shop…