Nasty Not Nice
by Margaret Rand
Why are people drinking less, when wine is better than ever? I have an idea. Wine is too good. The wine trade is too nice. What we need, to have...
Author: Tim Atkin
A Level Playing Field
by Tim Atkin
What do we mean by the word “Burgundian”? Used indiscriminately to describe a region that is famously, almost defiantly complex, it’s a term that covers so many appellations, terroirs and...
Affordable Luxury
by Sara Danese
Would I pay £25 for a glass of Veuve Clicquot? Not if I could help it, no. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t drink Veuve Clicquot if it...
Meet Your Robo-Somm
by Hayden Stewart
The year is 2029. First-world civilisation has adapted to mass surveillance. Waymos and Tesla Robotaxis chauffeur NPCs between work and their domicile. Porch Pirates have spared your paleo meal-prep subscription...
The Pluralism Of Wine Writing
by Peter Pharos
Einstein was there before us. As he famously put it, I know not with what technologies the third 67 Pall Mall awards were fought, but the fourth will be fought...
Drinking Quite Well
by Harry Eyres
I hope you’ll forgive this column for being somewhat nostalgic. I want to begin by giving a picture of the wine-drinking habits and economics of a particular middle-class English family...
Raising Standards
by Andy Neather
Joy is unconfined, one assumes, in the Languedoc village of Montpeyroux: last week it became the 369th French Appellation d’Origine Controlée. This will mean stricter controls on the red grapes...
Palliative Measures
by John Atkinson MW
Things can only get worse was a mantra of student life in the 1980s. Thatcherism was dystopic, a priori. Graduation was just a blip. We were all back in our...
A Performance Art
by Margaret Rand
Susannah Cibber was a terrific singer, by all accounts. Handel gave her the contralto solos in Messiah, and she had a great acting career as well: she became the highest...
Hand In Hand
by Tim Atkin
Rowan Hooper’s new book, Togetherness, is a fascinating study of symbiosis, what he calls a “neglected silo” of scientific research. The subject might sound a bit geeky and pointy-headed, but...
Michelin And The Death Of The Wine Guide
by Andy Neather
It was entirely predictable that Michelin’s new venture into wine would trigger huffy French recriminations. Its Wine Selection Burgundy 2026, launched this month, awarded nine producers the top accolade of...
The Yang Of Greek Wine
by Peter Pharos
By now this is so well-known that repeating it enters broken record territory. The biggest story for Greek wine the past 20 years has been the rise of Assyrtiko. From...