There are mixed bags and wild ferments, threats and inert gases, stability and prestige Champagne. The content of the 2023 Master of Wine exam presented an extremely high hurdle for...
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Tastings Miss A Trick
The French call it an “embarras de richesses”. The closest we come in English is a confusing abundance or possibly too much of a good thing. But I really appreciated...
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Cultural Elevation
I couldn’t find the right polish for my tan suede shoes that morning, so they’re looking a bit unloved as they sink into the expensive taupe carpet. Nobody is sitting...
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Fail Again, Fail Better?
It began with a conversation about Instagram. I was talking to a photographer friend during a photoshoot and we fell onto the subject of social media. As so often happens,...
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Santorini 2023 Report
“What a wine”, I commented on the Instagram feed of a London wine merchant who had just posted a new import from Etna. “Good enough to give anything on Santorini...
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In Praise of Bulk Wine
“No problem, monsieur, but please, give it some age—at least five years.” We nodded in intimidation as the lady at Roger Sabon proceeded to fill our 20-litre plastic canister with...
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The Light At Daybreak
I had begun to think I would never write anything again. No harm done other than to my inner peace. My word inertia has felt a little like chronic jetlag,...
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Can AI Break The Mystique Of Connoisseurship?
Another day, another outlandish claim about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform our lives. Last week the BBC News website claimed breathlessly that “AI… is now increasingly helping people buy...
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The Bodega’s Scent
What is your idea of charisma in a wine? And where does it come from? It’s entirely subjective, of course. Look at it too hard and it might vanish. But...
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The Convivial Human Flow
I’m in awe of the dexterity and organisational skills of those who tap tasting notes directly into laptops at wine tastings. I count some of these individuals among my friends,...
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Why AI Matters
My friend Matt likes to confuse algorithms. “Every now and then, I type the first thing that comes into my head into Google, Facebook or Instagram” he told me. “Emperor...
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Harnessing Heritage
Forbes recently revealed that the richest man and woman on earth – Bernard Arnault and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – are French. And that both came from the world of luxury. As we...
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