Once, many moons ago, I was in a bar in Sanlúcar de Barrameda with my friends Tim and Rocío Holt. Possibly I had imbibed one too many copitas of Manzanilla,...
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The Untold Charm of Aged South African Sauvignons
Sauvignon Blanc is South Africa’s biggest export cultivar, and its most consumed cultivar domestically; outstripping Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay in the mass market game. But while familiarity has bred a...
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Wine, Ale And Witch Trials
The cat lady is finally experiencing a phoenix moment. Ever since J.D. Vance’s regressive comments resurfaced, about America being run by ‘a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable...
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The Appeal Of Youth
Of the many irritating things my parents used to say on repeat, the one that springs most to mind now is ‘youth is wasted on the young’. (A close second...
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Ageing Gracefully
In an interview for 60 Minutes in 2004, the journalist Ed Bradley asked Bob Dylan if there was anything in his early work that surprised him. Hi Bobness looked pensive...
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The Tyranny Of The Label
One of my abiding memories from my days editing Decanter magazine comes from the panel tastings we used to hold in the 10th-floor executive suite overlooking the Tate Modern. Twice...
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Simplicity
I worry that we have forgotten to feel wine. We live a colorful wine life – in white, red, orange, and pink. Wine has possibly never been so restless, so...
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Is Wine’s Future Doomed?
Last week on the eve of my 19 year-old daughter’s departure for university, the last of our three children to leave, we shared wine over Korean barbecue. To hear some...
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Mediterranean Sundance
Ah, the joys of localism. The provincial dialects. The regional quirks. The local produce. Like most of its Mediterranean neighbours, Greece is no stranger to those – a 200-year old...
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Tailoring Terroir
In London, if you want your friends to hate you, give their dog a squeaky toy. In Ireland, or at least in the house on the West Coast where I’m...
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The Ladder Of Quality
The bucolic opening sequence to The Hunger Games makes the dystopic Panem State seem homely; a place where you can stitch a quilt, or share a venison kill with your...
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Understanding Mouthfeel
Mouthfeel is tribology! What makes a Barolo so different from a Spätburgunder? What about distinguishing between a Tannat and a Beaujolais? First and foremost, it’s the mouthfeel — the sensations...
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