Like most winemakers in the world of my age (and that’s the only clue I’m going to give you about my identity) I grew up regarding Bordeaux as the reference...
Read MoreThe Sweet Smell of Success
“When that limey writer Tim Atkin said my S.O.S. Winemaker’s Red Blend was the ‘Coca Cola of wine’ I could’a hugged the guy. He probably thought he was bein’ critical,...
Read MoreAll I want for Christmas
Dear Santa, I don’t really want much for myself this Christmas. Oh, I guess there are a lot of material things that part of me craves. I was thinking I...
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The 2013 harvest in France: un millésime du vigneron
Earlier this month the French Ministry of Agriculture published its current estimate of the country’s wine production this year. At 42.3 million hectolitres, it looks like 2013 will narrowly surpass...
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Wine, minerals and bull schist
“I go with the flow.” Lubricated by six serious Mojitos – his favourite drink – Danny Makeabiggabuck is surprisingly loquacious about the approach he takes to the wine business. The...
Read MoreBordeaux 2009 revisited: plush, lush, but no shoe-in
The annual Bordeaux tasting by the Institute of Masters of Wine brings together 100 or so of the best wines of Bordeaux four years after the vintage. Most of the...
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The Official 2013 Bordeaux Vintage Report
Here in Bordeaux, we’re Singin’ in the Rain over the wonderful 2013 Harvest. Many might compare 2013 to the magical vintage of 1984, a vintage memorialized by the great George...
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A spoonful of sugar
There’s nothing like delivering a speech about the UK wine market to make you focus on its strengths and weaknesses. I was asked to talk to a group of Spanish...
Read MoreThe First Rule of Wine Club
Over the past twenty years book clubs have become part of the social fabric of the UK. A recent article in The Telegraph suggests there are now 50,000 in the...
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Wine and the Académie Française
The arrival of President Jean Suis-Convaincu at the Elysée Palace in 2017 changed everything – but only briefly after Tea Party Republicans drove the world into a second financial crisis...
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What it takes to make great wine
What does it take to make a great wine? An amazing vineyard is the most obvious answer, preferably but not necessarily planted with old vines. You can’t put lipstick on...
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The Sommeliers’ Last Wish Foundation
Dear Friend of Wine, Hello, you’ve probably heard of me. My name is Larry Anosmia, and I’m the best Master Sommelier in America. Yes, that Larry Anosmia, star of the...
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