It’s OK, you can admit it. We’re all friends here. You don’t like Pinot Grigio, do you? To say so out loud feels a bit snobby, almost… grapist. But it...
Read MoreThe Golden Age of Tedious Wine Writing
People have been writing about wine for as long as there has been wine, and nearly as poorly as they write about it today. It’s humbling to be part of...
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A review of Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & sparkling wine (Absolute Press)
Although certainly a fully revised and updated edition of Tom Stevenson’s standard reference work on Champagne and all things effervescent, this opus is more than that- it’s very much Essi...
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Fizz talk: what emerged from the International Sparkling Wine Symposium
With some big names in sparkling wine on five continents billed to speak at Denbies for this, the third and largest yet ISWS, the gathering mood was of course one...
Read MoreThe rise of Supernatural wines and other predictions for 2014
You won’t be able to say I didn’t warn you. 2014 looks to be another strange year in the wine business. If you don’t believe my predictions, remember that I...
Read MoreSupergrapes vs. Evil Greegeo
Whenever I hear about a new graphic novel based around wine like The Drops of God or The Initiates, I get excited. They tend to be fairly grown-up affairs, but...
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Monty Python and the meaning of wine
The news that the five surviving members of Monty Python are planning a one-off reunion gig at London’s O2 arena next summer met with a range of responses, ranging from...
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Calling time on the Bordeaux recipe
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...
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