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Before watching the documentary Sour Grapes, I had a mental image of American wine collectors as like the effete Crane brothers in Frasier. What I did not expect was what...
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Selling California: the Impossible job?
Managing England’s perennially underachieving football team is sometimes described as “the impossible job”. A delusional fan base, a fickle and vicious tabloid press and a set of players who, whatever...
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Rethinking wine: back to the future?
It might surprise you to learn that London had a fleet of electric taxis in the late 19th century. They were known as hummingbirds because of the noise they made....
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Ventoux: wild wild East
“Bonjour!” beamed the skinny young monk as he hurried past me down the steep dirt path, his brown habit flapping behind him. It turns out the local monastery had only...
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Wine’s Future Shock
So many celebrities – and celebrity winemakers – have died this year that it was easy to miss the recent passing of Alvin Toffler. Alvin who, some of you may...
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Donald Trump’s World Atlas of Wine
What is it with you people that you want to know what I think about wine all the time? When I became the new Emperor of Wine, and, really, I’m...
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What would Brexit mean for the wine business?
What will Brexit mean for the wine business? In the traumatic week that has followed the referendum and the decision of 52% of voters to leave the European Union, the...
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Trump, Brexit and other endangered grape varieties
Estimates of the number of varieties of Vitis vinifera in cultivation vary widely. In the seminal work, “Wine Grapes,” the grape expert Dr. José Vouillamoz (pronounced “Wham-O”) asserts that the...
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The 2016 London Steak Awards: rare qualities
Last week was exhausting. In the course of judging the 2016 Graffigna London Steak Awards I had to visit four of London’s best steak restaurants on four consecutive nights. I...
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The Tour de West Norwood
Whilst most of my boyhood friends had pictures of John Barnes or Ian Rush on their walls, I had Gianni Bugno and Laurent Jalabert. In my teens, cycling was my...
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The Spanish Revolution
Which country makes the finest wines in the world? When the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi gave a speech at Vinitaly earlier this year, he caused a stir in the...
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Announcing Master of Wine Lite
The Institute of Masters of Wine is pleased to announce its new program, Masters of Wine Lite©. Tired of being the only person in your wine tasting group without initials...
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