Some 10 years ago, when I first started out as a wine, journalist I was commissioned (by a certain Tim Atkin) to write about why people bought the wines they...
Read MoreWhen bloggers become wine retailers
It used to be easy. Not so long ago, the UK wine landscape could be mapped on three points of a triangle: those who sold the wine (aka the industry...
Read More
Too much bottle?
It’s the wine industry’s dirty little secret. The back label tells you about the wine producer’s respect for the environment, their commitment to preserving the terroir and farming sustainably. But...
Read More
Carignan: Chile returns to its roots
Think of a word to describe the Chilean wine industry. Dependable? Consistent? Mass-produced? I’ve played this game with consumers and Chile generally elicits such responses. People in the wine trade...
Read More
Pierre Mansour: Wine Society selector
It does not sell Armand de Brignac ‘Ace of Spades’ Champagne, nor does it sponsor the drinks at footballers’ weddings. The Wine Society doesn’t court the ‘glamour’ end of the...
Read MoreWine at the movies
“I like to drink wine more than I used to. Anyway, I’m drinking more.” Marlon Brando, ‘The Godfather’ With his proceeds from ‘The Godfather’ director Francis Ford Coppola bought himself...
Read MoreWhat’s the point of posh tastings?
A friend of mine who’s a barrister calls what I do for a living “the most un-job like job in the world”. It’s a common perception. “Need an unpaid assistant?”...
Read MoreLord Sugar’s nose for fine wine
It’s a rare occurrence, admittedly, but there are times when Lord Sugar, the original East End barrow boy made good, talks a lot of sense. The latest series of The...
Read MoreSicily: a continent comes of age
There’s a spot on the north face of Etna, Sicily’s smouldering, still active volcano, where you can stand in front of the remnants of the last big lava flow, a...
Read More
My top ten wine and travel destinations
THE MOSEL VALLEY (Germany) Why should you visit? To taste the sublime Rieslings – regarded by many experts as the world’s best white grape – and to marvel at thier featherweight balance....
Read MoreWine, toilet paper and Costco
Like many of you, I suspect, I’d never heard of Annette Alvarez-Peters until she appeared on American television recently, chatting about wine, toilet paper and televisions. But suddenly, she’s all...
Read More
My top 50 Argentine wines 2012
These are 50 of my favourite Argentine wines, shown at a tasting in London yesterday and selected from an extensive report to be published next month. To explain the way...
Read More