The Final Turn of the Screw
by Tim Atkin
The Japanese have a single word for it: tsundoku. The English translation is less succinct but the phenomenon will be familiar to many of you: the practice of buying more...
Author: Ben Smith
The hidden red of the Southern Rhône
by Matt Walls
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – and her sister, Pippa. Andy Murray – and his brother, Jamie. Beyoncé Knowles – and her sister, Solange. Having a more famous brother or sister...
For Nemea and Saint George – Agiorgitiko Today
by Peter Pharos
It was a quiet summer afternoon in Florence. Some tourists in Belgian shirts were nursing pints and wounds, averting their gaze from the TV showing last night’s highlights. Their English...
The Emperor of Wine Donald Trump Wins Best Wine Ever Made at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
by Ron Washam
OK, let me just say this. I’m very proud to announce that my Trump 2014 Blanc de Blanc was named the Greatest Sparkling Wine Ever Made by the San Francisco...
Cape Redux
by Robert Joseph
“It is highly unlikely that functioning farming enterprises will be confiscated… Farm invasions are extremely rare in South Africa. I do not recall one in the last couple of years.”...
Eras of constant readjustment
by Christy Canterbury MW
“The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings,” wrote Kakuzo Okakura. Internationally best known for his work “The Book of Tea”, this Japanese art maestro worked fervently to educate...
Look back in anger – the Cape wine industry 30 years ago
by Robert Joseph
This article by Robert Joseph was originally published in WINE magazine in February 1988 “I have never heard any public figure in our wine industry call for vineyard ownership, land...
The power of wine’s collective spirit
by Tim Atkin
It was a surprise win, given its mixed reviews and the problems that occurred during filming, but anyone who’s seen, enjoyed and sung along to Bohemian Rhapsody will be glad...
The Dark Web of Wine
by Ron Washam
There are wine sites on the internet where you don’t want to go. I’m not just referring to the horrors of PUNCH or Wine Anorak, but sites even worse for...
The Kingdom of the Blind
by Matt Walls
Most wine professionals have a story of when they aced a blind tasting, a well-worn tale of olfactory deduction that would have Sherlock Holmes slack-jawed in amazement. It inevitably concludes...
How low can you go?
by Tim Atkin
What makes a wine worth drinking? is the intriguing title of American importer Terry Theise’s new book ($25, HMH). If you’ve never heard of TT, he’s one of the most...
Please give this Christmas, so I won’t have to
by Ron Washam
What I dread about Christmas are the gifts. For example, I don’t want a Coravin. Coravins are stupid. Somebody is going to give me a goddam Coravin, I just know...