We – the wine trade – convinced wine lovers around the globe that sparkling wine isn’t just for celebrations. (Or, maybe wine drinkers just fell in love with Prosecco and...
Why rosé is a wine for...
When is a gimmick a genuine...
The most improbable things can turn out to have lasting value. Who would have thought, back in the day, that changing the old vats in Bordeaux, those ancient wooden barrels...
Wine and writing in the time...
Shoreditch looked almost handsome in the late-winter sunlight filtering through the big windows of the Ace Hotel’s top floor. As I chatted to Jim Clendenen and tasted his crystalline Au...
Alsace and the meaning of tradition
The wine world thrives on novelty: new vintages, new flavours, new producers. In some ways, this is both understandable and necessary. Creating a bit of sizzle around a category that,...
Accented French – the red wines...
Every oenophile probably has that one moment of public blind tasting when it All Goes Right. Mine came sometime in the mid-noughties at the rooftop bar of the Athens Hilton....
Carignan: Chile returns to its roots
Think of a word to describe the Chilean wine industry. Dependable? Consistent? Mass-produced? I’ve played this game with consumers and Chile generally elicits such responses. People in the wine trade...
California dreaming in the UK
If location, location, location is the key to the property market, explaining why a sock drawer in Knightsbridge costs more than a palace in Kabul, it also tells you a...
