It was a crude but effective way of making a wine buying decision: Old World vs. New World. You had savoury, medium-bodied classic styles from Europe on the one hand;...
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The Beautiful South
Welcome! Bienvenidos! Thobela! Using a modern day riff on Joel Grey’s famous song in Cabaret, The Beautiful South held its first, keenly-awaited tasting in London last week. If you’ve not...
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Losing wood: the death of the barrel
The ISPB – International Society for the Protection of Birds – announced yesterday that it was supporting the “Get Wood” campaign recently launched by France’s leading barrel-making organisation FAT –...
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Wine terrorism: meet the CRAV
The year is 1973. A dark cloud has gathered over Europe. Troubled governments are scrambling to get to grips with revolutionary organisations across a continent riven with economic hardship and...
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Arrogant Frogs?
What’s wrong with France? asked the distinguished journalist Christine Ockrent in a recent think piece in Prospect. Her analysis, which is worth reading in full, begins at the top. President...
Read MoreMaking Sense of Matt Kramer
Imagine for a moment that you are me. Yes, I know, that’s ridiculous. It’s like asking you to imagine that you’re Albert Einstein or Abraham Lincoln, but let’s just say...
Read MoreCornas: the sweet smell of success
Of all the red wines of the Rhône Valley, there is one that has an unfortunate reputation. Cornas has often been accused of having a rustic or ‘animal’ side to...
Read MoreIs the customer always right?
Relationships can be difficult, even at the best of times. It seems strange that we would select a partner of our own volition, and then proceed to argue and fight...
Read MoreChâteau Oublié and the fall of the 1855 Classification
To understand how, in 2014, one man with a grudge managed to bring down some of the highest and mightiest in Bordeaux, you have to know a little about the...
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RIP, two great men of wine
I’m not sure if Peter Lehmann and Tim Hamilton Russell ever met, but I like to think they would have got on, despite their very different personalities. One was a...
Read MoreWine Mosaic: Saving rare grapes from extinction
When was the last time you had a glass of Uvalino, Limniona or Österreichisch Weiss? Possibly not so recently, if ever – all three grape varieties are on the...
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The Swartland Revolution
Every revolution needs a spark, a catalyst that changes things forever. It might not compare with the storming of the Bastille or the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the...
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