What does the Union Jack symbolise to you? Pride? Shame? Sovereignty? Populism? Peace? Colonialism? All are possible responses and have been almost since the flag was designed in 1800 to...
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The Rollercoaster of the US Wine Landscape
The US wine industry is perched precipitously atop a rollercoaster – on one of those tummy-turning peaks where you can’t see over the front to anticipate which way you’re lurching...
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New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: too much of a good thing?
In the recent history of wine, it’s hard to think of a bigger success story than New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. People famously complain that the fastest way to earn a...
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The A.I. of Wine Spectator
The two words that come to mind when one thinks of the “Wine Spectator’s” lineup of wine critics — James Laube, Matt Kramer, Tim Fish, James Molesworth, Harvey Steiman et...
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Why Can’t We Accept Mothers Who Drink?
The ‘Wine Mom’ has become an infamous staple of popular culture. She loves a meme, her personalised ‘mummy juice’ glassware and sassy ‘wine o’clock’ kitchen signage – and she can’t...
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Capital ventures
When London’s first urban winery opened in 2013, I was cynical. But London Cru is still going strong, having since won multiple awards for its wines and gained listings in...
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South African wine’s Day Zero
Day Zero sounds like the title of a dystopian disaster movie, starring Matt Damon or an ageing Bruce Willis perhaps. But what’s happening in South Africa right now has nothing...
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So You Wanna Be a Wine Judge.Com
Hello! And welcome to So You Wanna Be a Wine Judge.Com!, your online wine judge certification program. Once you complete this simple online course, you’ll be completely qualified to judge...
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The mindful glass?
27 Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is then to a man that is without wine? for it was made to...
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Praising Chile’s diversity
The samples didn’t look very special, to be honest. Bottled in the sort of thing they ask you to fill in doctor’s surgeries, they’d arrived by plane from the south...
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Why buy Bordeaux en primeur?
During Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972, the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai was asked what impact he thought the 1789 French Revolution had had on the world. His reply...
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What do we mean by fine wine?
“Wine doesn’t get much better than this”, a London-based wine merchant wrote on Instagram recently. Pictured above his comment was the cork from a bottle of 1959 Château Lafite-Rothschild, his...
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