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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Some like it cool
At the first wine course I ever took the tutor explained that Syrah and Shiraz are actually the same grape but under different names. It felt like an illuminating nugget...
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Alice’s Adventures in Naturaland, and Through the Isinglass
Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole Alice was getting very tired of sitting by herself on the bank. Though she was usually by herself, unless she was at a wine...
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Hey, big spender: wine on the high street
Failing the emergence of a last minute saviour, BHS looks set to slide into administration this month, joining a list of major high street casualties that includes Comet, Woolworths and...
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En primeur: the other side of Bordeaux
The ‘primeur’ show is over for another year and the dust has settled here in Bordeaux. The journalists and buyers of the wine world with their brimming laptops and stained...
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