Trump, Macron and Making Wine Great Again
by Christy Canterbury MW
“It’s one of my only good traits. I never had a glass of alcohol. I never had alcohol, for whatever reason,” he added. “Can you imagine if I had? What...
Author: Ben Smith
Things are hotting up in Burgundy
by Tim Atkin
Another year, another sale in Burgundy. Twelve months ago, it was Clos de Tart, bought by François Pinault’s Artémis Group for €280m; now it’s Domaine Henri Rabourseau, in which the...
The Court of Master Sommeliers: who says cheaters never proctor?
by Ron Washam
“The Court of Master Sommeliers stripping the titles from 23 of the 24 candidates who took the tainted blind wine tasting exam in order to preserve the Court’s ‘integrity,’” Larry...
Crab brains and Cabernet
by Matt Walls
The last twenty metres of road aren’t yet tarmacked on the way to He Jin Zun winery in Ningxia, northern China, so we get out and crunch over the gravel...
Cover letter for the post of Head of Strategy of the Institute of Masters of Wine
by Peter Pharos
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Institute, It is with pleasure and trepidation that I am applying for the position of Head of Strategy at the Institute [1]. While this...
How to make a hangover work for you
by Celia Bryan-Brown
I saw Christmas decorations in the supermarket today. Admittedly, they were tucked behind ranks of lurid Halloween costumes – but still. Between these and the inexplicable (and surely eternally unused)...
Do winemakers improve with age?
by Tim Atkin
Peter Sisseck poured a sample of his 2016 Pingus with obvious pride, watching my eyes for a reaction. He’s a thoughtful, modest man, who abhors self-promotion and would never think...
Our vanishing Master Sommeliers
by Ron Washam
Researchers say there are no more than 273 of them left in the world. Many of the males are old, long past a desirable reproductive age. They’re nocturnal for the...
Is an imitation wine better than a fake?
by Christy Canterbury MW
Charles Caleb Colton is originally credited with the phrase, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Yet it more often is attributed to Oscar Wilde, whose cheeky addition “…that mediocrity...
The Wine Writers of Penzance
by Peter Pharos
A scenic market town in South England. A gang of rowdy wine writers have ambushed a party of innocent wine sellers. The leading seller, a jovial, portly man in his...
Bad times in Buenos Aires
by Tim Atkin
Every year at the end of my three-week tour of Argentina, I sit down with Dr Nicolas Catena of Bodega Catena Zapata for breakfast. He, inevitably, wants to talk about...
Freddie Perjury, Director of Greenwashing
by Ron Washam
Prick Family Vineyards owner Rich Prick has announced the hiring of Freddie Perjury as Director of Greenwashing. “I’ve given Freddie the assignment of communicating to the wine buying public our...