In Praise of Bulk Wine
by Wojciech Bońkowski MW
“No problem, monsieur, but please, give it some age—at least five years.” We nodded in intimidation as the lady at Roger Sabon proceeded to fill our 20-litre plastic canister with...
Author: Tim Atkin
The Light At Daybreak
by Clare Tooley MW
I had begun to think I would never write anything again. No harm done other than to my inner peace. My word inertia has felt a little like chronic jetlag,...
Can AI Break The Mystique Of Connoisseurship?
by Andy Neather
Another day, another outlandish claim about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform our lives. Last week the BBC News website claimed breathlessly that “AI… is now increasingly helping people buy...
The Bodega’s Scent
by Margaret Rand
What is your idea of charisma in a wine? And where does it come from? It’s entirely subjective, of course. Look at it too hard and it might vanish. But...
The Convivial Human Flow
by Harry Eyres
I’m in awe of the dexterity and organisational skills of those who tap tasting notes directly into laptops at wine tastings. I count some of these individuals among my friends,...
Why AI Matters
by Tim Atkin
My friend Matt likes to confuse algorithms. “Every now and then, I type the first thing that comes into my head into Google, Facebook or Instagram” he told me. “Emperor...
Harnessing Heritage
by Pauline Vicard
Forbes recently revealed that the richest man and woman on earth – Bernard Arnault and Françoise Bettencourt Meyers – are French. And that both came from the world of luxury. As we...
The Colour and Clarity of Wine
by Charlie Leary
Wine as a metaphor has a long history. In the 8th century BC, Homer wrote that “flashing-eyed Athena sent them a favourable wind, a strong-blowing West wind that sang over...
The Desert Island Wine
by Wojciech Bońkowski MW
Thirassiá covers nine square kilometres and is the Siamese twin of Santorini. The two islands were separated by a catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 17th century BC. Thirassiá looks exactly...
The Low-Down on Bordeaux 2022
by Rod Smith MW
The 2022 vintage in Bordeaux, as across all of France and most of the rest of Europe, was very hot. Regular news stories about daily temperatures exceeding 40°C were prominent....
How Natural Should We Go?
by Anne Burchett
‘Everybody has Botox,’ says my much younger friend who thinks she’s old because she’s in her late thirties. I don’t but, having researched the subject, I was almost relieved to...
Knowing When To Stop
by Margaret Rand
The other week Domaine de Chevalier brought over samples of the 19 components of its 2022 red grand vin, plus a sample of the final blend. I’ve always thought blending...