Sometimes it takes events like the Scottish Referendum to make you realise that however ancient and permanent the old order appears, the status quo could suddenly change. It’s no different...
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Mad Frankie Fraser and the price of wine
Mad Frankie Fraser, the notorious gangster who died last week, was famous for using pliers to extract his victims’ teeth under torture. One hesitates to say that the wine trade...
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Blank de Blanc
Browsing the wine selection at Bordeaux airport is revealing. Unsurprisingly, the grand vins of the Médoc, St. Emilion and Pomerol take up most of the shelf space, with some more...
Read MoreThe adventures of Brett Bung
Given his normal upbringing on the outskirts of a great metropolitan city, no one would have been able to anticipate that humble Brett Bung would one day emerge as the...
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Whatever happened to wine journalism?
In his play No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre outlines a vision of hell. It consists of three people who don’t like each other confined together for eternity. Mine? It’s that I’ll...
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Marlborough Sauvignon: too much of a good thing?
Some milestones make you think. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the founding of Cloudy Bay, one of the most successful wine brands ever, and a label that...
Read MoreHow to become a successful wine writer
I am often asked what it takes to become a successful wine writer, which is like asking Harold Pinter how to become a successful song writer. He’s dead, you idiot....
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A review of the 2015 Platter’s Guide Five Star Wines
If anything can be said to create a buzz in the South African wine industry, it’s the annual announcement of the Platter’s Wine Guide’s 5 Star Wines. There were 50...
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When life gives you Melons
Like a weathered George Michael cynically observing a shiny young Justin Bieber, Muscadet must be thinking to itself ‘been there, done that’. After its 1980s heyday of wild success, Muscadet...
Read MoreAnosmia Dogs and other failed Master of Wine dissertations
One of the requirements for becoming a Master of Wine is an original and rigorous research paper of between 6,000 and 10,000 words. The words must be placed in sentences,...
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Wine’s tipping point
To thine own self be true. Polonius’ advice to his son Laertes in Hamlet is arguably easier to give than to follow. Most of us make regular compromises in our...
Read MoreA preview of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild auction
The Cape Winemakers Guild was created in 1982 by a group of winemakers who set out to “improve the quality and standing of South African wines”, arguably no easy thing...
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