The Japanese have a single word for it: tsundoku. The English translation is less succinct but the phenomenon will be familiar to many of you: the practice of buying more...
Read More
The hidden red of the Southern Rhône
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – and her sister, Pippa. Andy Murray – and his brother, Jamie. Beyoncé Knowles – and her sister, Solange. Having a more famous brother or sister...
Read More
For Nemea and Saint George – Agiorgitiko Today
It was a quiet summer afternoon in Florence. Some tourists in Belgian shirts were nursing pints and wounds, averting their gaze from the TV showing last night’s highlights. Their English...
Read More
The Emperor of Wine Donald Trump Wins Best Wine Ever Made at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
OK, let me just say this. I’m very proud to announce that my Trump 2014 Blanc de Blanc was named the Greatest Sparkling Wine Ever Made by the San Francisco...
Read More
Cape Redux
“It is highly unlikely that functioning farming enterprises will be confiscated… Farm invasions are extremely rare in South Africa. I do not recall one in the last couple of years.”...
Read More
Eras of constant readjustment
“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings,” wrote Kakuzo Okakura. Internationally best known for his work “The Book of Tea”, this Japanese art maestro worked fervently to educate...
Read More
Look back in anger – the Cape wine industry 30 years ago
This article by Robert Joseph was originally published in WINE magazine in February 1988 “I have never heard any public figure in our wine industry call for vineyard ownership, land...
Read More
The power of wine’s collective spirit
It was a surprise win, given its mixed reviews and the problems that occurred during filming, but anyone who’s seen, enjoyed and sung along to Bohemian Rhapsody will be glad...
Read More
The Dark Web of Wine
There are wine sites on the internet where you don’t want to go. I’m not just referring to the horrors of PUNCH or Wine Anorak, but sites even worse for...
Read More
The Kingdom of the Blind
Most wine professionals have a story of when they aced a blind tasting, a well-worn tale of olfactory deduction that would have Sherlock Holmes slack-jawed in amazement. It inevitably concludes...
Read More
How low can you go?
What makes a wine worth drinking? is the intriguing title of American importer Terry Theise’s new book ($25, HMH). If you’ve never heard of TT, he’s one of the most...
Read More
Please give this Christmas, so I won’t have to
What I dread about Christmas are the gifts. For example, I don’t want a Coravin. Coravins are stupid. Somebody is going to give me a goddam Coravin, I just know...
Read More