“I love Chablis, but I can’t stand Chardonnay.” “I hate Sancerre, but I adore Sauvignon Blanc.” You used to hear such comments all the time, even from people who claimed...
Read MoreChristmas Day chez Atkin
Forget about turkey, stuffing and brandy butter: the Atkin family Christmas will have a Spanish flavour this year. There are two reasons for this, neither related to the London location...
Read MoreBest fizz of 2009
With 12 days to go until Christmas, I’d like to propose a yuletide toast to Professor Gérard Liger-Belair of the University of Reims. He it was who proved earlier this...
Read MoreWill this end cheap alcohol deals?
It was a neat, if unfortunate coincidence that on the day the Scottish government published its alcohol bill, a small brewery in Fraserburgh released a head banger beer called Tactical...
Read MoreThe Atkins. My wines of the year for 2009
First, the good news. Not since 1990 has the world enjoyed such a consistently promising vintage as it did in 2009. The châteaux owners of Bordeaux may be leading the...
Read MoreMatt Skinner and a difference of vintages
How much store do you set by tasting notes? Would a fulsome description of a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc — combine mouth watering, zingy, tangy, nettley, gooseberryish, minerally, etc in the...
Read MoreKing of the hill
A visitor to Angelo Gaja’s winery in Barbaresco fell to his knees on a recent tasting tour and tried to kiss the great man’s hands. “Please get up,” Gaja told...
Read MoreTurn on the lights
Where are we to find such bottles? It’s harder than you might think, particularly if you want to drink something at 12% or below. White wines from the cooler parts...
Read MoreFirst Quench hits the wall
Remember the date. For anyone who works in the booze trade, not least those of you who are employed by First Quench Retailing, October 29th 2009 could turn out to...
Read MoreChristmas reds and whites
WHITE 2008 Errazuriz Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley (£4.99 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic). Reduced from £7.99, which makes it a stunning deal, this is an easy drinking, peach and citrus...
Read MoreSeeing the Light
Imagine the scene in A&E. A patient is nursing a badly sprained wrist and the duty doctor asks what happened. Various possibilities jostle in his mind. Over-enthusiastic gym visit? Domestic...
Read MoreWhat the general public drinks
If I had a tenner for every time a supermarket retailer has told me that “we’re giving our customers what they want”, I’d have retired to an offshore tax haven...
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