Exciting news! Elton John has launched his own alcohol-free wine. Granted, to many of us it seemed scarcely believable that Sir Elton hadn’t previously done so: he’d already been beaten...
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Is Objectivity Overrated?
Over the last two years, I have been interviewing wine writers. I have asked them about their views on the field and to reflect on their own writing. Initially, I...
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The Earthworms Are Safe
Much has been made, in both mention and meme, of the recently announced MICHELIN distinction for wine. Not to be confused with the MICHELIN Sommelier Award, or the recognition of...
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Colour Blind
As an 18-year-old student in the United States, I took a course in the humanities. One of the books we used was called Learning to Look by Joshua C. Taylor....
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Transformations
I arrived in Puligny, at my friend Mary’s house, the other weekend, and she handed me a flûte salée from her favourite boulangerie in Beaune. It was celestial: an apotheosis...
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Spanish Strategies
The setting was magical, steep terraces plunging to the River Miño below. But José Moure was hard-headed about the challenges: “We’re in crisis – the big buyers bought very few...
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Contemplating Complantation
Contemplating complantation may not be the sexiest of titles, but in a volatile world of climate change and uncertainty perhaps it’s time to look back in shaping the future. ‘Back...
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A Tough Gig
I expect all of us who work in wine journalism have had some variant of the following conversation: “What do you do?” “I’m a wine writer.” “Is that a job?...
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Credible Signals
To sell wine, the wine being of good quality is not essential. In fact, selling mediocre wine is easy; selling bad wine is easier still. Not easy in the sense...
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The Burgundisation of wine
Every so often, a new buzzword springs up in the wine world. Often rather nebulous, sometimes completely intangible, its role is pithily to reflect a trend gaining traction with the...
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Wine’s Old People Problem
HEALTH WARNING: Contains sweeping generalisations, use of stereotypes, and half-believed opinions dressed up as facts. If you feel agitated, apply “not everyone, but some…” liberally throughout. Abandon reading if agitation...
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Picking The Right Moment
Pharrell Williams, Kate Moss, and a soil expert walk into a bar… and share a bottle of Moët. Not my wittiest opening, but that’s because it isn’t really a joke....
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