Given my fondness for wine writing, you won’t be surprised to hear I like other pointless discussions too. So I enjoyed the noise generated by a recent New York Times...
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The Liberal Arts of Wine
The first time someone in authority takes your fingerprints is among life’s tiny transitional moments. I wasn’t under arrest, thank goodness; I’d just applied for a state liquor license. But...
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Wine’s Icebergs
Prompted by a brilliant series on The Rest Is History podcast, I’ve been reading Richard Davenport-Hines’ book, Titanic Lives. It’s a fascinating tale of class, wealth, emigration and, of course,...
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Neither New, Nor A World
I live in Poland, which means my home is in Eastern Europe. Most of us would take this as a simple statement of fact, hardly giving it another thought. Many...
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Wine’s Next Price Shock
Call it the shock of the mediocre. Earlier this month in a West Country pub, I scanned the wine list out of idle interest. It offered just two wines under...
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Wines To Drink On A Date
On a cold, bright Saturday afternoon in January, a student couple entered my Cambridge wine shop-bar, Amphora. It was early and the venue was empty. After glancing at the extensive...
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Make Albania Great Again
Albania and Sussex have a lot in common. Similar population, with most young people moving to London. Pronunciation incomprehensible to outsiders. 150 miles of gorgeous limestone coastline. And of course,...
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Vintage Intrigue
One-time Deputy Paymaster to the British Forces, Richard Hill (1655-1727) had an honest soul and functioned as a forthright servant of His Majesty’s Government. For although he loved wine, perhaps...
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I’m A Hundred On That
“Peter,” one of my fellow diners said, “you have written about wine scores a couple of times, haven’t you?”. Well, time for another one I guess. Why do we keep...
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Peaks And Troughs
I’ve always liked Sauzet Burgundies well enough. And if that sounds tepid, it’s supposed to: they were clearly very good, but just never set my pulses racing. And then this...
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Hallowed Ground
It was a scary moment, at least in wine terms. There I was in the cellar at Domaine Leroy in Vosne-Romanée, tasting some of the most expensive reds on the...
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Maps Of Flavours
‘Which Greek wineries do you rate?’ my new kind-of-colleague asked when we broke for coffee. ‘Thymiopoulos,’ I said, hoping and praying that either our Italian colleague would interrupt, or that...
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